


Light Up the Darkness

by catslovesushi (sushiloveswhitlock)



Category: Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Klaroline, Supernatural Elements, Vampires, bastardization of mythology
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-22
Updated: 2015-09-22
Packaged: 2018-01-13 08:26:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 70,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1219399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sushiloveswhitlock/pseuds/catslovesushi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She was his light in the darkness and neither wanted to walk away. Their friendship became stronger as they uncovered an evil that would destroy all they knew. An unlikely alliance is formed. Can they destroy it before it destroys them?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Well hello there! After having lived in a different fandom the past few years, I decided to try my hand at a Klaroline fic. I had some of the ideas from last season but the story just didn’t really manifest until after 5x11. 
> 
> I want to thank a couple people - livingdeadblondegirl for recommending a wonderful beta in CeceVolume. :D
> 
> Important notes for this story -  
> \- Augustine storyline doesn’t exist (That sort of includes the whole Megan roomie thing.)  
> \- Travelers don’t exist either  
> \- Davina is still a mystery in New Orleans and is being kept safe by Marcel - Rebekah did see her but she was spelled to forget the exact location.  
> \- Hayley is still linked to Sophie  
> In this story, Tyler kidnapped Hayley but didn’t draw blood from her womb to create a hybrid.  
> \- The whole idea of the Harvest ritual and the current storyline of both shows does not exist in my world.
> 
> Disclaimer - I don’t own the characters to The Vampire Diaries or The Originals. The title isn’t mine either - it came from a quote from the late, great Bob Marley.

Caroline wanted to run. Just being at the boarding house with so many people was making her edgy. While everybody was sitting around waiting for Katherine to die, Caroline felt as though all eyes were on her. She knew she was being paranoid, but the last thing she wanted or needed was to have several sets of eyes judging her for her actions.

 

“I’m going to go,” she announced as she stood up, crossing her arms over her jacket. Looking right at Bonnie, she motioned with her eyes towards Tyler. It was an obvious lie on her part, but she seized the opportunity to play the ‘jilted girlfriend’ card to avoid suspicion.

 

“Okay, breakfast at the Grille?” Bonnie asked, quickly understanding the silent signal.

 

“No, I’m going back to the dorm. You know, prepare study guides and all,” Caroline said with a small smile. “Just tell Elena when she comes down.”

 

She was out the door and in her car in a flash. Breathing a sigh of relief that she wasn’t interrogated further, she started the engine and headed back to college.

 

During the drive, her mind wandered to her earlier escapade with Klaus. She had tried to convince herself that getting him out of her system would be easy. He did, after all, promise he would walk away and never come back.

 

The question was, as Caroline got on the highway, did she _want_ him to walk away? Grateful that she was alone in her car, she turned down the volume of her stereo and began to think.

 

Sure, she had a life ahead of her - a life she planned ever since she was young. While she couldn’t have her two kids as her dream had been, she still wanted to live this lifetime as humanly as possible. She knew her human friends would one day leave the world and she felt it was important to spend it with them.

 

_But what then, Caroline? Do you want to put aside your new dreams and desires, whatever they may be to live your human life for several decades? What will happen when your friends or you mom die? What then?_

 

As she drove on, she kept thinking about her human life and her new, vampire one. The thoughts played over and over in her brain. “Stop!” she cried out and quickly turned up the volume of her radio in an effort to drown out her thoughts. She wasn't going to find an answer tonight, on a drive back to her dorm. The whole concept of forever was still something she hadn't fully grasped, but she knew it wasn't worth wracking her brain over at the moment. There will be time for her to ponder her future, but now wasn't it.

 

As Caroline parked her car and headed into her dorm room, she thought about today and everything that happened out in the woods. It hadn't been planned – it was only supposed to be kiss but something sparked between them and she suddenly wanted more.

 

Caroline let out another sigh of relief when she walked in, thankful her friends decided to stay at Mystic Falls as they waited for Katherine’s demise. She needed the time alone to reflect on what happened and, for once, selfishly enjoy what happened. She grabbed some clothes and made her way to the shower.

 

She couldn’t help but look at herself in the mirror - to see if there were any visible changes after what happened. Other than her hair thoroughly tousled, there was nothing _physically_ different - emotionally and mentally though, she knew something changed.

 

She stripped out of her jacket and shimmied off her jeans. Her bra was barely hanging on - one of the hooks had broken after he snapped it off her body. Her panties were destroyed out in the woods. She shook her head as she remembered the mischievous smile Klaus gave her as he took the piece of silky fabric and stuffed it into his jacket pocket.

 

Caroline smiled as she let the water wash away the dirt, indulging in her memories. She ran her hands down her body still feeling his lips and mouth and hands on her. She let out a shudder as she brought her hand along her collarbone. The bite mark was already healed but she continued to feel his fangs in her as he tasted her blood. She wondered if he would feel her ghostly bite on his shoulder.

 

“ _Fuck, Caroline!” he growled as he slammed into her once more. She felt him bend over and arched her back as he dragged his tongue along her spine._

 

“ _Don’t stop!” she moaned, trying to brace herself on the leaf covered ground._

 

“ _Never!”_

 

“Klaus,” she whispered into the water as she ran her hands down her hips, remembering his hands when they gripped her as he drove into her over and over. It was frenzied and feral the first couple times before they managed to take their time and savor each other.

 

With her eyes closed, she reached out and placed her hands on the shower wall, wishing she was touching his chest instead. She wanted to wrap her fingers around one of his necklaces, feeling the leather cord against her skin. She let out a whimper as she imagined his fangs as he grazed them along the column of her neck.

 

The emotions and memories took over as she stood under the shower, the dull ache between her legs throbbed. Lathering her hands with body wash, she tried to imagine her hands were his as she sought relief. It wasn’t long before her orgasm overtook her. She stayed under the shower for a while, catching her breath, wishing it had been _his_ fingers instead of hers. It wasn't until the water turned cold that she stopped her fantasy and got out.

 

Once she was dressed, she grabbed her phone. She knew from their brief conversation as Klaus walked her to the edge of the Salvatore property that he was leaving that evening with Rebekah. His need for revenge on Katherine was no longer an issue.

 

Knowing he was probably still in the air, she found his name on her contact list and dialed.

 

“Hey, it’s me…” she began when she got his voicemail. She began to pace around the room at almost vampire speed. “I just wanted… you know, what you said in the woods…” she rambled. “I just… I just wanted…” She sighed and gathered her courage. “Idon’twantyoutowalkaway…” Caroline took a calming breath and continued. “I don’t want you to walk away. I am just not ready for ‘last love’ yet…. Anyways, that was all I wanted to say.” She ended the call, wanting to say so much more, but knew it was probably for the best to just hang up..

 

She set her phone down and began to wring her hands. What if what she said wasn't enough? Should she have said more? What if he decided she wasn’t worth his time anymore? What if he just deleted her message and really left her forever?

 

Caroline's brain was starting to hurt and she was seriously second guessing and doubting herself. She was just about to grab a blood bag when she remembered something from earlier in the afternoon. She rushed back into the bathroom and grabbed her dirty clothes, fishing into the back pocket of her jeans. She pulled out a small vial - a gift Klaus gave her as they left. Even though he had promised to leave, he still cared enough to give her a small vial of his blood if she were ever in danger.

 

She was about to once again head to her fridge when she heard footsteps outside her dorm room. They stopped right in front of her door before moving away quickly. Caroline raced over and opened the door, looking left and right but seeing no one. Spotting something on the floor, she looked down and saw a small box, her name written in an all too familiar handwriting.

 

She grabbed the gift and shut the door, finally grabbing her blood bag before sitting on her bed once more. She forced herself to finish her blood before she opened her gift. Even after tasting Klaus’ blood, she needed to replenish herself after the day’s activity.

 

Caroline gasped when she removed the lid. Inside was a dainty silver chain with a pendant that appeared to be antique. Knowing Klaus as Caroline did, she was _certain_ it was an antique. There was no note this time but she knew--somehow--the vial would fit inside the pendant. It didn’t take long for her to figure out the hidden clasp where she stowed the precious blood. Unlike the diamond bracelet he had given her what seemed like ages ago, she didn’t have any objections this time to his gift.

 

It was still early for her but she decided to get into bed and let the memories once again take over. Tomorrow, she’ll face the music when her friends come back, but tonight was about her.

 

**~Meanwhile in New Orleans~**

 

“ _... I am just not ready for ‘last love’ yet… anyways, that was all I wanted to say._ ” Klaus replayed the message once again.

 

After landing in New Orleans he left Rebekah on her own, claiming he needed to feed. After sating his thirst, he wandered down to the docks alone as he thought about what had transpired that morning.

 

_It had started out normal - as normal as things could be these days - but then he received an incoherent, slurred message from Damon about Katerina dying. It was the moment he had been craving for the past centuries and he couldn’t wait to dance on her corpse and perhaps enjoy a fine bottle of Scotch along with it. He quickly ordered a private jet to take him back to Virginia._

 

“ _Mystic Falls, Nik?” Rebekah asked as he finished with his call._

 

_He explained to his sister and saw her face light up._

 

“ _I’ll go with you!” she shouted as she ran up the stairs._

 

_He smiled, seeing his sister happy - it seemed like a rarity these days when he seemed to be in a constant battle with his siblings._

 

“ _Why are you going to Mystic Falls, Niklaus?” Elijah inquired as soon as Klaus left his office._

 

“ _Katerina is dying,” he simply replied, expecting a reaction from his brother. He was disappointed though; his brother simply shrugged and walked away, heading across the courtyard and over to that wolf girl’s quarters._

 

_He rolled his eyes and walked away, wondering why Elijah was so blasé upon hearing the news. Hadn’t Katerina been an object of his brother’s affections for centuries?_

 

_Once he was in the aircraft, he asked Rebekah the very thing about Elijah._

 

“ _Nothing?” Rebekah asked and he shook his head. “That Hayley seems to have put a spell on Elijah.”_

 

“ _Do you believe he’s been bewitched by that girl?”_

 

_Rebekah shook her head. “There are moments when I’m not sure. I don’t think she’s bewitched him, though. We’ve both seen vampires under witches’ spells. This seems different. I can't explain it but it is different.”_

 

_Klaus nodded. “You're right, it is different and I had expected some sort of reaction when I mentioned Katerina. All those years of pining for her and he had no reaction. I think upon our return, we should look into this, little sister. In the meantime, we should continue with the charade and play along.”_

 

“ _I think you’re right, we don’t want to arouse any suspicion and we don’t know who is or are involved. I’ll put a call on some witches that aren’t from New Orleans and see what they say.”_

 

Klaus sat on a wooden bench and stared out into the Mississippi. He didn’t want to think about his brother and that Hayley anymore. He reached into his pocket and smiled when he felt that satiny fabric before grabbing his phone. If his siblings were to see him now, he would never hear the end of their taunting and would have no choice but to put daggers through them.

 

Of course, the main purpose of going back to Mystic Falls flew out the window when he spotted _her_ in the woods. Klaus had hoped to see Caroline, but it was not what he expected. He never expected anything more than a confession from Caroline and when her lips met his, it was like heaven. But it didn’t stop there; he got much more than he expected before the sun set. If he wasn’t a selfish being, he could have died right there and been happy.

 

Luckily, Rebekah didn’t seem too bothered by the fact that they didn’t see Katerina on her deathbed.

 

“ _Did you get a chance to see the doppelganger?” she asked once they got on the plane._

 

_He simply shrugged knowing that she would react to his indifference. After a few minutes without a response, he looked at her as she stared out the window. “Did you?”_

 

“ _No, Matt and I talked after I rescued him,” she said. “What about you? Did you see her?”_

 

“ _Who?”_

 

_Rebekah rolled her eyes. “Don’t play dumb with me, Nik. You know who I’m talking about.” She paused as if to wait for him to respond. When he didn't, she continued. “Caroline. Did you see her?” She spoke to him as though he was a dullard and he had half the mind to dagger her right there, had he been carrying one._

 

“ _I might have caught a glimpse of her,” he replied nonchalantly._

 

_She raised her hands up in exasperation. “Alright, I get it, you don’t want to be interrogated. Look, we have our share of differences and yes, we are probably the shining example of an estranged family…”_

 

_He chuckled at her words, nodding in agreement._

 

“ _...but we’re family, Nik. Forever and always. In all the centuries, I’ve never seen you like this with anyone. I hope she’s worth it.”_

 

_Instead of acknowledging her, he turned the tables on her instead. “What about the quarterback? Is he your new beau?”_

 

_She looked over at him and gave him a small smile before picking at her overcoat. “No, he wishes to stay a human and remain in Mystic Falls. He is a good person and even though we were nothing more than a summer thing, I wish him the best.”_

 

_Klaus nodded. While he didn’t fully understand his sister’s intentions, he did admire the way she respected the boy’s wishes, not that Klaus would ever admit it to his sister. Had that been his intent earlier today – to respect her wishes and let her live her life? Would he be able to after what transpired out in the woods?_

 

“ _And if he were to ever change his mind and come to New Orleans?” he asked. He wondered if she would ever appear at his doorstep as he so arrogantly predicted once._

 

“ _Well, I won’t say no,” she replied with a small smile. “He knows I’d give him the world if he wanted.”_

 

The remainder of the trip was silent as they both got lost in their thoughts. It wasn’t until the plane landed that Klaus realized he had a missed call from Caroline along with a voicemail. He couldn’t, for obvious reasons, listen right away so he waited until they headed their separate ways.

 

He wasn’t sure what to expect when he hit the play button. Was she going to scream and yell at him or was she going to say she regretted the entire thing. In fact, that was exactly what he expected as he steeled his nerves and pressed play. He was shocked as he listened to her message, the way she rambled gave him hope. She didn’t want him to walk away from her life. While she wasn’t ready for the possibility of _them_ , she hadn’t dismissed the idea either. He could live with that.

 

Knowing it was getting late for the young vampire - he really didn’t want to call her a baby anymore - he decided to leave her a text message.

 

_If it isn’t too forward, perhaps we can use the time to get to know each other._

 

A few minutes later, his phone indicated a new message.

 

_I’d like that and thank you for the necklace. It’s very pretty._

 

He was momentarily stunned by her acceptance of the necklace. He wondered if she was smiling right now or if she would always wear it. It warmed his blackened heart and the feeling was overwhelming. He smiled that she responded back so quickly and his token was well received this time.

 

_I’m sure it looks beautiful on you, Caroline._

 

Klaus wanted to use one of his typical terms of endearments, but knew now there was time for that. For the first time in his long life, he felt genuine hope.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I thought I’d give you another chapter now though future chapters will probably be updated roughly once per week. 
> 
> Thank you for the alerts and reviews so far. :)
> 
> Thanks to my lovely prereader HannahPerry85 and my wonderful beta CeceVolume. 
> 
> Disclaimer - I don’t own the characters to The Vampire Diaries or The Originals

 

Caroline woke up the next morning slightly groggy - her night had been filled with erotic dreams of a hybrid with a British accent. As much as she wanted to lay in bed and waste the day away, she couldn’t, since her roommates were coming back and if the text message was any indication, they’d be there in a couple hours.

 

She quickly scrambled out of bed and threw on some clothes. Using her vampire speed, she created some study guides for the next hour, in case either Bonnie or Elena asked about her sudden departure. After the hour was up, she grabbed a blood bag and started straightening up around the dorm room.

 

Caroline was like a Whirling Dervish as she moved about cleaning and scrubbing every nook and cranny of the room. It was crazy, but it helped calmed her nerves as reality started to sink in. She was beginning to grow nervous imagining all the bad things her friends would say to her. Sure, she could keep it a secret, but she knew, as luck would have it, that one day they would find out if she hid the information from them. She decided to keep quiet for now and wait for the opportune time.

 

The door opened just as she was scrubbing the inside of her mini-fridge.

 

“Care?” Bonnie began as she walked into the room with Elena following closely behind.

 

“Oh my god, Care, you wouldn’t believe the wild story Tyler told when you left!” Elena reached over and grabbed a blood bag. “Mmm, I needed one of those; my head was feeling funny.”

 

“What story is this?” Caroline asked, hoping her ex-boyfriend hadn’t been suspicious of her activities out in the woods. “Did you drink too much last night, Elena?”

 

“No, I just had those shots earlier in the day, that was all,” she replied. “It’s not a hangover headache, it’s just weird feeling.”

 

“Alright, maybe it’s just stress and all. So, what is the news?” Caroline asked again.

 

“Well, when you left, Tyler started drinking and then talked about Klaus and how he’s becoming a baby daddy to a werewolf,” Bonnie explained. “Of course, Tyler was a little more crude in his descriptions.”

 

Caroline froze, her cleaning rag and spray bottle fell to the floor. “What?” she asked, higher pitched but quieter. No, it couldn’t be, could it? “Is it possible?” She turned around and faced her friends, sitting on the floor, in front of the fridge. Bonnie’s back was turned as started putting clothes away while Elena flopped down on her bed, staring at the ceiling.

 

“According to Tyler, he said it was something about a loophole, but he was drunk at the time, so who knows,” Elena said with a shrug and flipped back around so she faced Caroline before getting up. She moved quickly and kneeled in front of Caroline, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Are you sure you’re okay, Caroline? You look a little flushed.”

 

Bonnie tossed some clothes onto her bed and moved towards Caroline and Elena, staring at her two friends. She didn’t notice Caroline looked ‘off’ and figured it was something only vampires and their acute eyesight would notice. She did, however notice how _clean_ their dorm was and figured it had to do with seeing Tyler at the boarding house.

 

“Um, yeah,” Caroline replied with a smile. “I’m fine. I’ve just been cleaning, that’s all. Why else would I be flushed?” She turned back around, picked up her cleaning supplies, and started scrubbing again. This time, the inside of their microwave - the same one she had cleaned just before she started to tackle the fridge.

 

_How could this happen? Was it really possible?_

 

“I thought this stuff only happened with sparkling vampires,” Caroline quipped as she concentrated on an invisible speck of dirt. She practically winced at her forced joke and told herself to calm down.

 

“Care, something’s wrong. Talk to us,” Bonnie said softly as she walked over and touched Caroline’s shoulder.

 

“It’s just…” Caroline began. She wanted to lie or ignore their questions but she knew the inevitable was here. She slumped onto the floor and braced herself for the worst. “I did something bad.”

 

“What are you…” Elena began but suddenly grabbed her head and screamed in agony. It was like a witch aneurysm except she slumped to the floor immediately and passed out.

 

Caroline’s woes were suddenly forgotten as she and Bonnie brought Elena to her bed. Caroline ran into the bathroom and rinsed out a washcloth to set on her friend’s forehead.

 

“What was that, Bonnie? Was that witch stuff?” Caroline asked in a whisper.

 

“No, it wasn’t,” Bonnie replied as she looked at Elena with worry. “She’s been saying how off she has been feeling ever since Katherine died.”

 

A few hours later, Bonnie and Caroline were sitting on either side of Elena's bed. There was still no sign of her waking up and they were beginning to worry.

 

“Should we call Jeremy or something?”

 

Bonnie shook her head. “There’s probably little he can do since she’s a vampire. And if we called Damon or Stefan, they’ll show up and fret like crazy.”

 

Caroline didn’t mean to, but snorted at her friend’s remark. She nodded towards their friend and gestured to keep their voices low.

 

“What?” Bonnie asked, in a whisper. “Am I wrong?”

 

“No,” Caroline replied, “you’re not wrong, it’s just funny to hear it said out loud. But if she doesn’t respond by this evening, we should call one of them.”

 

Bonnie nodded and looked as though she was about to say something when Elena moaned.

 

Caroline quickly went to grab a glass of water and set it on Elena's nightstand.

 

“What...what happened?” Elena asked groggily, her voice cracking as she slowly looked around.

 

“You passed out for a few hours, are you okay?”

 

“Yeah, Bonnie, I’m fine,” Elena replied and slowly sat up. “Wait. You said I was out for a _few hours_?”

 

Caroline nodded. “You had just finished your blood bag and let out a painful scream before you passed out cold.” She handed Elena the glass and watched as she gulped it down and placed it back on the table.

 

Elena shook her head. “I kinda remember that. You were about to say how you did something bad.” She turned to look at Caroline.

 

“We can talk about it when you feel better,” Caroline suggested, feeling nervous again for bringing it up.

 

“Care,” Elena began and reached to grab Caroline’s hand, offering her reassurance. “You looked really upset. Talk to us.”

 

Caroline looked at her friends who were silently encouraging her. Elena moved over on the bed and patted next to her. Both Bonnie and Caroline squeezed into the full bed just as they did when they were younger.

 

“Talk to us,” Bonnie said.

 

Caroline took a deep breath. “Well, it isn’t what I _did_ was necessarily bad,” she began.

 

“Come on, Care. It can’t be _that_ bad,” Elena said.

 

It took a few breaths before Caroline had the courage to tell her friends. “I slept with Klaus.”

 

There was silence. Bonnie’s jaw dropped and Elena was just staring at her.

 

“Klaus?” Elena asked.

 

Caroline nodded.

 

“The hybrid who terrorized Mystic Falls?” Bonnie asked, as though confirming the facts.

 

Caroline shut her eyes and nodded, knowing any second now, she was going to lose two of her best friends.

 

“Was it consensual?” Elena asked softly.

 

Caroline raised her head and opened her eyes. “What?! No, he didn’t force me.”

 

The anticipation that at any moment, world war three was going to break out in the dorm room got to Caroline. “Well, aren’t you going to say what a horrible friend I am?” She leapt off the bed and stared at her friends, her hands practically clawing at her pant legs in anticipation. “So go on!”

 

Elena opened her mouth as though she was going to bash her friend and then stopped, confusion written all over her face. “That was weird,” she muttered and looked over at Caroline. “I don’t get it. I was about to lay it into you about how he killed Aunt Jenna and Tyler’s mom but then… then it was as though something was telling me not everything in life is black and white.”

 

Caroline looked at her friend who was clearly confused. Did that fainting spell affect her more than it should? “Are your emotions turned off?”

 

Elena shook her head. “No! Is it possible to feel like you have two minds?

 

“I’m not really following,” Bonnie said. “Take a breath, Elena, and talk to us. Once we can figure out what’s going on with you, then we’ll both talk to you, Caroline.”

 

The blonde smiled and moved back onto the bed. She was slightly relieved to drop the subject to help her friend get to the bottom of what’s going on.

 

“As I was saying, I was about to admonish Care for being with Klaus but then it was like another voice was telling me life wasn’t simply black and white. Then I had these images in my head… but it was weird, everybody was wearing clothes from a different era.” Elena paused and looked as though she was concentrating on something. “Elizabethan, I think? It looked like stuff they wore in that ‘Shakespeare in Love’ movie.”

 

“That seems like a strange dream,” Caroline commented. “We are sort of studying Shakespeare right now. Could that be it?”

 

“I don't know,” Elena replied. “I think Elijah and Klaus were in the dreams but they called themselves 'Lord Elijah' and 'Lord Niklaus' and I was hu-” Elena was about to add more but stopped. Her eyes widened in shock. “I think I was Katherine!” she exclaimed. “But why?”

 

Caroline gasped. “Did Katherine body snatch you? Is she in there?” Caroline leaned over and looked into Elena’s eyes, as though she was looking for another being inside her friend’s head.

 

“No!” Elena cried out. “How would we check?”

 

“If you’re Elena, what kind of stuffed animal was I carrying when you first met me?” Caroline asked, almost mimicking her mom whenever she interrogated suspects.

 

“It was a stuffed unicorn that you named Pretty Prissy,” Elena replied quickly.

 

“What were you wearing when you and I first met?” Bonnie asked, following Caroline's cue.

 

“We met at the park and I was wearing a red plaid dress with ribbons on my hair. I was crying because one of the ribbons had fallen off after I slid down the slide and you brought it to me.”

 

Convinced that their friend _wasn’t_ Katherine Pierce, the three of them hugged each other.

 

“Okay, that's good that it looks like Katherine Pierce hasn't taken over Elena's body,” Caroline said. “What else could it be then. Any ideas Bonnie? Is it a witch thing?”

 

“Wait! I remember something!” Bonnie said suddenly. “Last night when Katherine passed through me, she seemed different.” Bonnie closed her eyes and tried to remember exactly what happened before the pain of being the anchor overtook her senses. “It was like she was a shell of herself!”

 

“Is that some magic stuff?” Caroline asked out loud, never imagining she would ever enjoy solving mysteries like this one. “Or...or could it be doppelganger stuff?”

 

“Whoa,” Elena began. “If it was doppelganger stuff, wouldn’t I have gotten memories from the first doppelganger, what’s her name...Amara? Or what about Tatia?”

 

“I’m not sure,” Bonnie replied. “I mean, I might have to do some research but think about how different Katherine was. She was a vampire who was turned back human and then died. Tatia didn’t die that way and neither did Amara. That has to be the key.”

 

“This sucks if I have Katherine’s conscience now,” Elena muttered. “But at the same time, I certainly wouldn’t have wanted to be Amara, she was strange.”

 

“But you’re still you, right?” Caroline asked. “You’re not going to suddenly start dressing up in clubbing wear and stilettos to class? Because that would be frientervention time.”

 

“Yeah, I’m still me,” Elena said with a smile. “Just a little… I don’t know. I do like that theory, any other ideas?”

 

The three of them tried to come up with other ideas, nothing seemed to make sense and probably won't until Bonnie had the chance to grab some grimoires.

 

“I'll do that in the morning since my classes don't start until noon,” Bonnie said. “Don't worry, Elena, we'll try to figure this out. If it is her conscience, would you want me to find a way to remove it? I won't be able to, personally so it means I'll need to find a witch to help and all.”

 

“I don't know,” Elena replied, rubbing her temples. “It's a lot to take in and as much as I didn't care for her, and yes, I know that's an understatement, I guess things could be worse, like the whole body snatching idea of Caroline's.” She playfully stuck her tongue out at her friend.

 

“Hey!” Caroline exclaimed, pretending to be insulted. “A lot stranger things have happened in Mystic Falls so that really wasn't _too_ far fetched.”

 

“Touché,” Elena quipped before grabbing both of her friends' hands and giving them an affectionate squeeze. “I'm still me, don't worry. I just feel...I don't know how to explain it, it's me but more relaxed version, if that makes any sense.”

 

“Wiser?” Bonnie offered and shrugged when her two friends stared at her in shock. “Look, she’s not my BFF by any means but you’ve got to admit, as conniving as she was, she managed to escape Klaus over and over for centuries. That takes gut and wisdom.”

 

“I hate to admit it, but she’s got a point,” Caroline said. “I guess we could look at this as a good thing?”

 

“It’s different that’s for sure,” Elena replied and looked over at Caroline. She narrowed her eyes giving Caroline the same look she had gotten when she was being mock-interrogated earlier. “So back to you; is that why you were so shocked by that baby news? You feel something, don’t you?”

 

Caroline’s first inclination was to lie and say no. Instead, she looked down, almost ashamed and admitted, “Yes. I don’t want to, and I fought against it for a while, but we talked and kissed and then one thing led to another…” Tears threatened to fall from Caroline’s face. “I thought it was enough but now I’m not so sure and it scares me. I don’t want to fall for him. He’s done bad things. And…and…”

 

“And we’ve all done bad things, Care,” Elena said and tapped her head with her finger. “I may have been a vampire for a shorter time than you but even I have done bad things already. Hell, it isn’t just blood on my hands, I played with the hearts of two brothers!” Elena’s eyes widened and she clasped her hands over her mouth. “Oh my god, I could end up like her and hurt another set of brothers,” she whispered more to herself than her friends. “Sorry, I’m beginning to think I’ll be doing some soul searching sometime soon. In the meantime, as I was saying, all of us have done something bad.”

 

“Yeah, I got involved with Expression and look where it got me,” Bonnie said with a wry smile. “And about the whole baby thing; as much of an ass Tyler was being, he also mentioned - or rather gloated - about how it was karma that Klaus was being trapped by witches to be with this girl.”

 

“What?” Caroline asked, a little more than shocked her friends were not admonishing her. While it was a known fact that they didn’t care for Klaus, she didn’t expect them to show their support for what she did.

 

Bonnie reached over and pulled the necklace on Caroline’s neck. “I sort of saw it earlier when we helped Elena onto the bed. Is this from _him_?”

 

Caroline merely nodded, a little wary of the former witch’s reaction.

 

“It’s meant to hold something inside.” Bonnie examined the pendant on Caroline's neck. “His blood?”

 

Caroline nodded again.

 

Elena had now moved closer to the two and was just listening to the conversation.

 

“He must care for you a lot,” Bonnie said as she let go of Caroline's necklace. “This isn’t just a vessel to hold his blood, Caroline. This has powerful protection magic surrounding it and I wouldn’t be surprised if that stone has been spelled to protect you from the sun.”

 

“But he promised to walk away from my life,” Caroline whispered, not wanting to tell her friends that she didn’t want him to. To be perfectly honest, she knew she wasn’t ready to fully admit it to herself either.

 

“It may have been his promise, but he also wanted you to be safe from evils. If I’m not mistaken, this amulet will protect you not just from werewolves but it might protect you from witches as well.”

 

Caroline was deeply touched by the gift but at the same time, confused about this whole upcoming baby thing going on with his life. As much as she liked to believe Klaus genuinely cared for her, she still had her vulnerable, insecure moments when she believed she wasn’t worth a _forever_.

 

Caroline sat down and stared at the necklace. Now that she slept with Klaus, was he still interested? Sure he responded back to her voicemail and they were going to get to know each other. What if he grew bored of her? It could happen, she reasoned. He was over a thousand years old, after all and she was a barely an adult. But he wouldn’t have given her this token of not just his affections but to ensure her safety if there wasn’t _something_ there.

 

A part of her wanted to rage at him but taking a look at Elena she decided she should take a page from _her_ friends’ book and try to use her wisdom and talk to him.

 

“I’ll talk to him and try not to judge,” Caroline said quietly and quickly got a hug from Elena.

 

“I’m going to take a walk around campus, get some fresh air,” Elena said as she headed towards the door. “This whole new outlook on life thing… I need some alone time. I’ll be back.”

 

Bonnie was next. “Just so you know, we’re on your side. The others might not be. If Tyler got wind of this, he won’t be as understanding.”

 

Caroline nodded. “I know.” She knew the subject of Klaus Mikaelson would forever be a sore subject when it came to Tyler and she hoped news of her rendezvous would never reach his ears.

 

“It was out in the woods, wasn’t it? The reason why you were late?”

 

Caroline nodded, a slight blush appeared on her cheeks. “I am not ready to drop everything and move to New Orleans, though.”

 

“One day you might be?”

 

“Yeah, you never know. One day, I might be.”

 

“Well, I’m not going to tell you what to do with your life,” Bonnie began. “Just make sure you’re going in without blinders. If it’s truly what you want, I’ll support your decision. Whatever it is.”

 

Her friends’ reactions had Caroline thinking. “Bonnie, do you think I was too hard on Elena? When she was with Damon?” Caroline asked, now that she realized her friends were not shunning her. “Be honest with me, I can handle it.”

 

“You know I’m not Damon’s friend,” Bonnie began as she sat down next to Caroline. “I think we probably could and should have supported her more.”

 

“I feel like instead of being her friend, I sort of ostracized her for being with Damon because of personal reasons.”

 

Bonnie put an arm around Caroline. “I was guilty of that too. I think we both forgot our friend was first and foremost _our_ friend.”

 

“I’m seeing that now,” Caroline admitted. “I can never be a friend of Damon, but I get it now.”

 

“Yeah, me too. You just don’t get yourself caught in some crazy loophole where _you_ end up with supernatural babies,” Bonnie teased as she playfully nudged her friend.

 

“Oh god, could you imagine?” Caroline played along, grateful for such wonderful friends. “Would I need to combine the parents’ names to create a unique one?” Both girls laughed at the ‘Twilight’ reference.

 

“Come on, Care, let’s go find Elena and grab some food.”

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: So as you may have guessed, Elena is OOC in this story. I didn’t want to have her going back and forth between Damon and Stefan so I had to change things up a little. 
> 
> Let me know your thoughts, I’d love to hear from you. :)
> 
> Until next time, XO~ sushi


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Sunday! This is your pre-Oscar chapter for the week. :)
> 
> I’ve gotten some alerts and some reviews so thank you very much! 
> 
> Thank you to my prereader HannahPerry85 and my wonderful beta CeceVolume for working on this chapter. 
> 
> As always, these aren’t my characters. 
> 
> Enjoy!

The few days since returning from Mystic Falls, Klaus and Rebekah continued to act ‘normal’; snapping and bickering at each other around the house. It didn’t matter what they argued about, whether it was Rebekah causing a scene at the French Quarter and drawing Marcel’s attention or Klaus and his infamous temper, Elijah was none the wiser it was merely a ruse. In the meantime, they each contacted witches outside of New Orleans—allies of theirs who could figure out what was going on in New Orleans and were willing to help.

 

They also avoided their other house ‘guest’, Hayley, who seemed to dote on Elijah and vice versa. Rebekah tried to be cordial to the pregnant girl at first, especially since they were all living under the same roof. Soon, the constant doe eyes Hayley gave her older brother was sickeningly sweet, so much so that for a moment, Rebekah admitted to herself that she preferred her brother with the now-deceased Katerina Petrova.

 

For Klaus, avoiding the wolf-girl was effortless and something he had already been doing. Even though she was carrying his child, he saw her as nothing more than a vessel. Even then, it was a stretch—he had no need for an heir, as much as Elijah tried to convince him. He was thankful she kept to her part of the wing. If he had his way, she would have been living elsewhere if it weren’t for his big brother and his sense of ‘honor’.

 

Klaus and Rebekah carried the charade over in public as well, so they would remain not only under Elijah’s radar, but Marcel’s. Klaus had his suspicions that Marcel was somehow more involved than just controlling the witches, though he had yet to figure out what that was. Rebekah was convinced a mystery girl name Davina was the reason, though neither of them could figure out why or how—especially given their brief and unexpected encounter.

 

It wasn’t easy for Klaus to just sit idly by without taking some sort of action; the longer he had to wait, the more restless he became. He longed to rip out hearts of both vampire and witches, but he couldn’t. Not yet. As much as he wanted to confront and destroy Marcel to regain his rightful place as king, Klaus _knew_ had to restrain himself. This wasn’t some Mystic Falls wayward scheme to destroy him or his family—this was bigger and there were too many unknown factors. Until he had the knowledge of the players and motives, Klaus knew fighting blindly was unwise and dangerous.

 

His phone vibrated in his pocket indicating a new text message and he quickly scanned and deleted it before setting it on the bar.

 

_Dauphine and Canal. In front of the chemist. 10 minutes_

 

Klaus rolled his eyes and made a show of being irritated. He pulled out a fifty dollar bill and set it on the table. “Keep the change,” he said to Camille with a flirtatious smile. When he first saw her, he imagined seeing Caroline’s face on the girl. They both had fiery attitudes, blonde hair, and both were easy on the eyes, but that was where the comparison ended. The more he continued talking to the bartender, he realized she was nothing like _her_. There were no strange and pleasant feelings of happiness whenever he spoke to Camille. She was independent, but also tried, perhaps too hard, to read those around her. It didn’t take long before he grew bored with this game and of the tavern maid, especially after his recent visit to Mystic Falls. As much as he wanted to stop, Klaus continued the charade as several of Marcel’s minions were lurking about. Besides, he told himself, the psychology-student-turned-bartender could prove useful later on, seeing how Marcel appeared to be enamored of her.

 

“Thanks, whiskey guy,” Cami replied with a wink as Klaus got up and left the bar.

 

Klaus walked casually towards his destination, clearly aware he was being followed. But once he crossed Canal Street and was no longer officially in the French Quarter, he knew Marcel’s spies would leave him be. He wasn’t sure how long he was given the freedom to move about outside the Quarter but, for now, he was going to take advantage of it. He saw Rebekah studying what looked to be a map of the streetcar system. When he approached her, he saw her look quickly at across the street. Immediately, she was aware of their audience so she stood tall and glared at her brother.

 

“There you are! Nik, I want my own car, you promised me,” she said angrily. She wasn’t yelling but knew the spies were listening to their conversation.

 

“When you start showing responsibility, little sister, I’ll buy you a car. We have gone over this and now you’re making a scene,” he said slowly and with malice, his eyes didn’t match the anger in his voice.

 

“Ugh, fine,” Rebekah replied as she threw her hands up in the air, continuing her tantrum. “Well then you can continue to chauffeur me, for all I care!” she exclaimed defiantly and flipped her hair back to show her annoyance.

 

Klaus stomped over to his sister and took her arm. Rebekah played the part perfectly and acted as though her brother was dragging her down the street. Once they were well away from nosy vampires, their pace slowed and they walked side by side in silence.

 

“I heard back from Aria,” she said quietly, using the old Nordic language of their human lives.

 

“And?” Klaus replied back, copying her.

 

“She’s going to ask around but promised to get back to me within forty-eight hours.”

 

“Did she have any theories?”

 

“No,” Rebekah replied, this time speaking in English. “She doesn’t believe it is ancestral magic, though.”

 

“I didn’t believe as such, either.”

 

The two continued along some side streets until they arrived near the cruise ship terminal.

 

“Nik, just how acute are your werewolf senses?” Rebekah asked suddenly.

 

“What do you—” Klaus began, confused about his sister’s question. He looked at Rebekah realizing his sister was looking at something in the alleyway. He walked over and glanced over to where his sister was focused on.

 

“Are you able to sense it?” Rebekah asked before he had a chance to say anything.

 

“What are you getting at, Rebekah?” Klaus growled as he noticed a dog mounting another in the alley. “What are you insinuating, exactly?”

 

Rebekah sensed that her brother was quickly losing his temper and held her hands up in an effort to show she meant no harm. “I was just curious of you are able to sense when humans are…” Rebekah quickly thought of a word to use that hopefully wouldn’t invoke her brother’s wrath. “... in estrus?”

 

In an instant, Klaus pulled his sister roughly into the alley and was about to snap her neck, wishing he had a dagger handy when her words finally caught up to his mind. He stilled and dropped his arms back to his sides as he thought back to _that_ unfortunate evening.

 

“You’re referring to the girl?”

 

“Hayley, her name is Hayley. I might not be, what is the term these days? BFF? Regardless, she still has a name,” Rebekah answered, with a roll of her eyes. “So would you? I mean, we recognize other changes in female humans, would your wolf senses have noticed that?”

 

It was true, ever since he had broken the curse, his already acute vampire senses were heightened. Klaus recalled the wolf packs he encountered and their females. Yes, he would have known long before all the liquor dulled his senses, he just _knew_ it. Klaus gave a curt nod, answering his sister’s question. Klaus motioned his sister to follow and together they walked quickly to an abandoned warehouse where they were able to speak freely.

 

“I would have,” Klaus replied once they were inside. “I don’t recall anything that would have indicated she was in that phase.”

 

“It must be magic then,” Rebekah replied once the steel door to the warehouse was shut. She moved towards the middle of the room where old, rusted and dusty furniture stood. Klaus walked right by her and brushed off some cobwebs off of a couple chairs. “It has to be, right? Do you think it’s all related, this so-called ‘nature’s loophole’, Elijah’s behavior, and this mysterious Davina?”

 

Klaus shrugged and sat down, gesturing for his sister to do the same but she refused, preferring to stand instead of soiling her clothes. “It would not surprise me if they’re all related, little sister. However, I haven’t been able to see the motive or what faction is behind this scheme.”

 

“I’m not sure,” Rebekah replied. “At first I thought it was an effort to distract you with a possibility of a family, but I can tell you don’t care for her.”

 

“She was nothing more than a warm body to momentarily sate my base urges,” Klaus muttered. “Stupid mistake.”

 

Rebekah looked at her brother as he stared up at the ceiling. “You have a point. If they really wanted you to be distracted, they would have used Caroline instead,” she said with a small smile, in an effort to create some levity.

 

“Not funny, Rebekah,” Klaus growled. “I do understand what you’re implying, though, even if your attempt at humor is in bad taste. In the meantime, have you gotten any leads on where Marcel has hidden that Davina girl?”

 

It had been agreed, during their return trip home, that they would divvy up the tasks. While Klaus kept Marcel and his merry band of misfits busy, Rebekah would do her research and find out everything she could about the mysterious girl.

 

“Not yet, but I went to Tulane today to look at their library,” Rebekah replied, ignoring her brother’s weak insult. “I found an article about a missing girl, Davina Claire. She was declared missing after Hurricane Katrina and presumed dead.” Rebekah reached into her purse and pulled a photocopy. “I can’t say for sure given how young she looks in this picture, but this could be her, Nik, given the brief glimpse I had of her.”

 

Klaus looked at the picture. “She’s a witch given how she spelled you?”

 

Rebekah nodded. “It isn’t the same enchantment spell that the New Orleans witches use. It isn’t even the same as the Bennett witch either.”

 

“We’ll have to exercise caution,” Klaus asked and Rebekah nodded. “You did well, little sister.”

 

“If my theory pans out, you should buy me a car,” Rebekah joked. “One that I won’t have to hide around town so I can keep up with the charade.” The fact that he even complimented her was unexpected. It meant a lot to her that Nik was giving her some responsibilities. As much as she liked to shop and create havoc now and again, she liked feeling useful.

 

“Little sister, if you’re correct about the miracle baby, Elijah, and the Davina girl being somehow all linked together in a grand plot, I’ll buy you a Bugatti Veyron, if you’d like,” Klaus said with a smirk. “In the meantime, it's best if we continue what we're doing. We don't want to rouse suspicion that we're looking for answers.”

 

“Got it, remain in the status quo until we have answers. By the way Nik, I’d rather have a MacLaren,” Rebekah quipped, before getting serious once again. “She promised within 48 hours so it shouldn’t be long.” Even as she repeated the words and sounded confident, a part of her _hoped_ that Aria would ally with them and help their cause. Otherwise, they were both back to square one.

 

“How well do you trust her and what is her payment for her services?”

 

“I trust her well enough. I promised her one of mother’s grimoires in return for her assistance,” Rebekah replied. “I also made sure she understood what could happen if she double crossed us. What is it that you say, ‘old, young, dead or alive…witches are a pain in the arse.’”

 

Klaus chuckled at the words he muttered more than once. “Right you are. I suppose we ought to head back to the house, we don’t want to arouse any suspicion from Elijah while he continues to play house.”

 

“Nik, we’ll get him back,” Rebekah said just before they headed out. “We’ll get to the bottom of this mess.”

 

 

**~Somewhere in the French Quarter~**

 

“So what’s the report?” Marcel asked as he knocked back another shot at the underground vampire club he owned. Ever since his arrival, Marcel suspected Klaus was up to his no-good ways. He knew his sire coveted the title as king and would do anything in his power to overthrow him, given the chance. Therefore, Marcel made sure his most trustworthy men were assigned to follow him around the Quarter.

 

“Nothing out of the ordinary,” Thierry replied.

 

“Yeah, he had a drink at Rousseau’s and then left soon after a text message came through,” Diego continued. “He seemed upset by it. We followed him to Canal Street where he met up with his sister. They argued before walking away, still bickering.”

 

Marcel gave a nod to his men and then reached over to pour them a couple shots of whiskey. “Sounds like Rebekah was riding his ass about something,” he muttered, mostly to himself. He also wondered if he should extend his directive and have his men follow Klaus everywhere - not just within the Quarter. It really didn’t matter to him. Even if he were to, Marcel was protected by magic and he _would_ know if magic was used. Whatever Klaus and his siblings were doing, and he was convinced they were up to something. He was confident it would be some sort of failed coup.

 

_Perhaps he should anyway, just to piss off his sire,_ he thought as he poured himself another shot. He dismissed the idea for now - there would be time for that later. Marcel looked up at his men and held up his glass as a sign they should drink. “He hasn’t asked about witches or anything?”

 

Both Diego and Thierry shook their heads. “Not today,” Thierry provided.

 

“He chatted with Cami when he was the bar,” Diego added.

 

Marcel tried to remain calm at the news but inside, he was seething. He wanted the girl for himself and didn’t like the fact that Niklaus Mikaelson was moving in on someone he was interested in. He knew if he wanted any chance with Cami, his future queen, he had to up his game.

 

“Good,” Marcel replied with a smirk, hiding his irritation from his men. “Continue following him and keep me up to date. Let me know immediately if something unusual occurs. The Mikaelsons arguing is _not_ considered unusual, but pay attention to their conversations.”

 

“They were arguing about cars,” Thierry replied. “Nothing that sounded out of the ordinary. Something about how he doesn’t let her drive and she wants to.”

 

“Some things never change,” Marcel quipped and patted the backs of the two vampires before pouring more drinks for them.

 

 

**~Whitmore College~**

 

Ever since their recent trip back to Mystic Falls, Caroline continued to wonder about her life goals she had made as a human and insisted on keeping after she became a vampire, to some degree—obviously, having kids and her golden retriever were out of the question now. She tried to imagine what forever would be like, but she couldn’t.

 

_What would the future look like? Would there be flying cars? Will other planets be colonized? Would food taste different?_ A part of her believed they were silly thoughts. Then again, that was how they always showed the future in movies, so she reasoned it wasn’t _too_ silly after all.

 

_What exactly did she want?_ She _wanted_ to graduate college and spend time with her human friends and mom before she had to leave - whether it was due to people not noticing her age or other circumstances. _That_ much she concluded over the past few days. While she would have loved to stay in Mystic Falls for longer, her lack of aging would one day prevent it, unless she wanted to live her life as a recluse and Caroline wasn’t about to become one.

 

Beyond that, she wasn’t too sure. She didn’t plan a _certain_ hybrid that seemed to take a small piece of her with him when they parted ways. She knew she wasn’t ready to leave her current life for a chance at his, but it still made her think of possibilities.

 

She hadn’t contacted Klaus ever since the night she returned and he hadn’t either. A part of her knew he was letting her set the pace, at least, that was what she was hoping. She would have been lying if she said she hadn’t thought of him. She did and she dreamed about him too. She was eternally grateful not all her dreams left her hot and bothered, that would have been awkward to explain to her roomies.

 

Over the past few days she had her thumb over his name and was tempted to send him a text message or two but she didn’t. She didn’t want to be _that_ clingy girl she saw in movies. Instead, she kept busy and studied.

 

Her phone beeped interrupting her thoughts and she turned to look.

 

_Hey Care, I need to talk to you._

 

Caroline stared at her calculus book and growled. Not only was her schoolwork irritating her, but the text messages from Tyler were as well. _Did she really need to know the area under a curve?_ She could easily compel her professor into giving her a passing grade. It would be so simple and she wouldn’t have to strain her brain cells in Calculus class. _Focus, Caroline_ , she reminded herself, took a deep breath and continued on with her studies.

 

_Come on, Care, I made a mistake. I want to talk to you._

 

_I miss you._

 

Caroline glared at her phone. “Dammit Tyler, go away!” she growled. She knew she was avoiding him but she really didn’t have anything to say. She knew she couldn’t avoid him forever and if he continued, she was going to have talk to him. Right now, she just wanted to be left alone. After all, he left her to pursue revenge. _He_ made his choice and now was trying to crawl back to her. Once again, she was made to feel like she was second fiddle. She shut her phone off in a fit of anger and went back to studying.

 

“Where’s Elena?” Bonnie asked as she entered their dorm.

 

“She said she decided to head back to Mystic Falls,” Caroline replied with a wink, grateful for the distraction. “Something about needing the alone time to think and then she wanted to spend time with Jeremy.”

 

After perusing through some of Bonnie’s grimoires, the three of them decided Elena’s situation was indeed a by-product of being a doppelganger. While there was nothing that explicitly mentioned a conscience occupying another’s body, they were able to hypothesize that was what happened. For a few nights, Elena had dreams that she’d remember vividly the next morning, but they weren’t dreams but more of Katherine’s memories.

 

Bonnie and Caroline still continued to quiz Elena, to make sure she wasn’t body snatched by Katherine. They blurted out questions at random times just to see if they could throw Elena off her game but, after a couple days, they were convinced Katherine wasn’t going to appear before them. They also made sure to stay close to her as much as possible—in case she had another fainting episode. Other than the day she came back from Mystic Falls, it didn’t happen again.

 

Elena had been spending more and more time on her own, stating how she needed to get used to the idea of having absorbed Katherine Pierce’s conscience. She insisted that as long as they were only memories, she would be fine. She was still the same Elena—overall—what with the way she complained about the Salvatore brothers fawning over her. She was also a little different. _Wiser, like Bonnie mentioned,_ Caroline thought to herself.

 

“Who called this time?” Bonnie asked as she sat down on Elena's bed and faced Caroline.

 

“From what I heard,” Caroline began and rolled her eyes. She pushed her Calculus book aside and lay across her bed. “It started out with Stefan calling and then Damon jumped into the conversation. They’re both wondering why she hasn’t called or texted. She finally told me the excuse I told you and left.”

 

“Gotcha,” Bonnie said and began to power her laptop. “Not that they’ll know as soon as they scour the town.”

 

“Right?!” Caroline exclaimed. “That’s what she wants, though. Hey, so did you make contact with Grams yet?”

 

For the past couple of days, Bonnie tried to contact the Other Side and talk to her grandmother about Elena’s situation. It wasn't a guarantee they would find any answers but thought it was worth a shot in contacting her. Bonnie even brought up the idea of having Jeremy help but Elena didn't want her brother to know the actual reason. He didn't _need_ to know more supernatural stuff than he already did. “Still nothing,” Bonnie replied. “She’ll respond when she has an answer.”

 

“I know, you sort of warned me that it’s not like a telephone call,” Caroline said and sighed, a little disappointed by the news. “Do you think anybody there would know for sure?”

 

Bonnie shrugged, unsure of the answer. “Your guess is as good as mine. Are you ready to take a break on studying Calculus to help me with English Lit?”

 

The two of them studied in silence over the next few hours, only taking a break after their pizza delivery arrived. Stefan sent Caroline a text message asking about Elena and she replied with Elena’s message.

 

“Ugh, it’s probably Damon this time,” Bonnie muttered when she heard her phone chime a few minutes later. She got up and checked, her brow furrowing as she read the message.

 

“What’s wrong, Bonnie?” Caroline asked as she saw her friend’s confused expression.

 

“It’s a message from someone name Aria. She said my Grams and hers knew each other and studied magic together according to the text. I’m gonna go give her a call and talk to her,” she replied, grabbing a jacket. “I’ll be back.”

 

“Sure, okay,” Caroline said as she continued to work some on her assignment. A few minutes later, she saw a pop-up notifying her that Tyler had emailed her.

 

“Seriously?!” she cried out in frustration and grabbed her phone. Caroline was trying hard not to break the glass screen as she angrily typed a quick message to her ex.

 

_We have nothing to say, Tyler. Please leave me alone._

 

After sending the message, she turned her phone off and contemplated changing the number. It wouldn’t be a bad idea, she would get to choose who would be able to get her number and who wouldn’t. She giggled as she imagined Tyler’s expression when he tried calling, only to get a wrong number.

 

_That’s bad, Caroline_ , she chided herself as she stared at the phone. At the rate this was going, she would to talk to Tyler soon. _I’ll give it a two more weeks, three tops,_ she decided, believing by then, the right words would come to her. Right now, it still hurt to imagine him turning his back and walking away from her, especially since he showed up at Mystic Falls a few nights ago.

 

_Was she wrong in wanting to move on from him? What if he was her so-called epic love? No_ , she reasoned. Had he _been_ her epic love, he wouldn’t have walked away so easily.

 

The sound of the door unlocking drew Caroline from her thoughts.

 

“So what did this Aria want?” Caroline asked, noting Bonnie’s troubled expression. “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

 

“Everything is okay, relatively,” Bonnie began cryptically and slowly took her jacket off, taking her time to hang it on their coat rack. She didn’t say anything more and Caroline was about to ask when Bonnie sat down on her bed and looked at Caroline. “She was contacted by Rebekah for some help.”

 

Caroline gasped out loud. “Rebekah? As in the Original?” Caroline exclaimed, not quite sure if she heard right.

 

“The one and only,” Bonnie replied and added a huff. “I don’t believe it myself. According to Aria, they need a witch to help them uncover some strange happenings in New Orleans. She told them that she’d let them know in 48 hours and then proceeded to contact me.”

 

“What strange things? Like Silas strange?” Caroline shuddered at the memories of last summer’s terror in Mystic Falls. She grabbed her wrist as she remembered how he compelled her to cut her arms.

 

“I’m not sure what’s going on, to tell you the truth,” Bonnie admitted, giving her friend a small, remorseful smile. If she hadn’t fallen into the Professor Shane’s influence and gotten involved with Expression, she knew, her life would be different than today. “Whatever it is exactly doesn’t sound good, given that Aria was promised one of Esther’s grimoires as payment.”

 

“But why did she ask your help?”

 

“Like I said, earlier, my Grams was friends with hers. She also knows that I’m a Bennett witch...or rather _was_ a witch and I could help her with spells and such. Plus I have my own collection of grimoires that might help her.”

 

“So you’re a witch consultant now?” Caroline asked with a laugh, trying to lighten up the mood.

 

Bonnie aimed a throw pillow at Caroline. “Yeah, I guess so.” She was also relieved by the shift in mood.

 

“Does that mean you’re going to help the Originals?”

 

“Aria said that while she doesn’t have all the facts, something is upsetting the balance and it isn’t Klaus or his siblings. She won’t know until she contacts them to give them her decision. If this is all true well, I can’t believe I’m saying this,” Bonnie muttered with a look of disgust. “But yeah, I guess that’s exactly what it means.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought this chapter helped set the stage for the story. Let me know your thoughts or if you have any questions. 
> 
> Thank you! XO ~sushi


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! It’s time for another chapter! :) Glad you are enjoying the story so far. 
> 
> Props to my pre-readers DarkNNerdy and HannahPerry85 and for CeceVolume for her awesome beta skills. 
> 
> Most of the characters aren’t mine except for Aria who you’ll meet today.

 

“See you after the weekend, guys,” Bonnie called out as she opened the door. She was heading back to Mystic Falls to sign some paperwork so that her dad’s house could be put on the market. Since Jeremy had school the next day, she made plans to meet up with Aria at a coffee shop outside of town.

 

“Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow evening when I drive out,” Elena said as she looked up from her bed, where she was studying next to Caroline.

 

“Are you sure my mom can use your bed when she comes over on Saturday?” Caroline asked looking up from her textbook, just before Bonnie was about to walk out.

 

“You always ask that.” Bonnie gave her a teasing wink. “And yes, I’m fine with it. Have fun spending time with your mom. See you later.”

 

It was a quiet Thursday night and, since neither one of them had classes scheduled on Fridays, it was usually reserved for movie nights or extended trips back home. This weekend, Caroline was looking forward to spending time with her mom who was driving up for an overnight visit.

 

Five minutes after Bonnie left, Elena pushed her school assignments aside. “We should drink.” She got up and grabbed her purse. “Come on, let’s go get some bottles. It’s our weekend and you’re done studying.”

 

Caroline nodded, not needing to be told twice. She jumped off the bed and grabbed her jacket along with her purse. “Sure, you drive.”

 

Elena and Caroline returned less than an hour later with two large grocery bags of liquor as well as some pasta. They had found a quiet store not quite close to campus where they only needed to compel the clerk. They decided to change into pajamas before each grabbing a bottle of vodka and sat on Caroline’s bed, propped against the headboard. One of their favorite movies, ‘Brave’, was playing on mute and they were half paying attention to it while they drank.

 

“Ugh, I’m not looking forward to seeing the Salvatores tomorrow,” Elena announced as she capped her bottle and began to twirl it in front of her. “I decided it’s time I talked to them about where we all stand.”

 

“I guess you can’t really avoid them if you’re going to Mystic Falls,” Caroline noted as she followed with a swig. “Will you be okay?”

 

“Yeah, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking now that I have this new conscience. I don’t want to play them both and I have been, just like Katherine,” Elena said and scrunched her face up at the mention of her former nemesis.

 

Caroline looked over at Elena and place her hand on her friend’s shoulder. “Are you getting used to her memories?” she asked with concern.

 

“I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to Katherine’s memories,” Elena replied with a grimace. “But they’re livable. I mean, it could be worse, right? She could have taken over my body or something crazy like that. Like I said to you and Bonnie, as long as I don’t act like her, I should be fine.”

 

“So what are you gonna do?”

 

“I’m gonna talk to both of them.” Elena nodded emphatically as if to make a point. “I need to explain that I can’t keep going back and forth whether it’s intentional or not. I can see how much it hurts them when one is chosen over the other,” Elena explained. “I can’t have them fighting because of me, either.”

 

“Do you think they’ll accept the news?”

 

Elena shrugged. “They’ll have to because I’m leaving.”

 

“What?!” Caroline screeched, her body about to jump off the bed until she nearly overturned the bottle she had propped up against her.

 

“Yeah,” Elena said. “I may not have inherited her coldness, but I seem to have inherited her nomadic nature, minus being chased by an Original, of course.” She added a teasing eyebrow waggle at Caroline and got a playful shove in return. “Besides, after my talk with Damon and Stefan, it would be nice to just be on my own.”

 

Caroline just stared at her friend. While it made sense that she would want space after her discussion, it just didn’t sound like Elena to run off. She had to remind herself that her friend was not the same person, that it was possibly some strange doppelganger effect.

 

“Where would you go?” Caroline asked before taking another swig.

 

“I don’t know, maybe head west and then overseas. It’d be nice to explore.” Elena stared at her friend for a moment. “Is it weird that I sort of want to visit Bulgaria?” she whispered as though revealing a secret.

 

“It’s sort of where your ancestors are from, right? Or doppelganger?” Caroline asked, a little unsure since she was beginning to feel the effects of the alcohol.

 

“Not sure how that works exactly, but yeah,” Elena replied as she swung her vodka bottle around in front of her.

 

“You’ll come back though, right?”

 

“I’m sure I will. I’ll keep in touch. It’s not like I’m running away from danger. I just want to find myself.”

 

Caroline raised her bottle. “Well here’s to finding yourself...ourselves.” She giggled as they clinked their bottles together. The two of them downed the rest of the vodka and grabbed two more bottles.

 

“So, Katlena,” Caroline slurred as they were both about half way through with their second bottles. They were now sitting on the floor facing each other with their legs crossed- their backs against their own beds, the movie long forgotten. “What if they followed you?”

 

“I hope they didn’t...don’t,” Elena replied and furrowed her brow. “Wait, did you jus’ call me _Katlena_?”

 

“Did I?” Caroline shrugged and shook her head erratically so her hair fell in front of her face. “I…oh, I dunno. Mebbe.”

 

“Yer drrrunk,” Elena slurred. She began giggling when Caroline kept trying to brush the hair away. “Wait… I’mmm drrrunk. And I’m not Katlena, Caroline Mikaelshun!”

 

“What!” Caroline’s voice rose several octaves high at her friend’s taunt. She reached up, grabbed a pillow off her bed, and aimed it at Elena. With her motorskills impaired by the alcohol, she gauged her strength wrong and hit her friend harder than intended, knocking her over. It didn’t help Elena’s cause that she, too, was drunk and even as a vampire, her balance was off.

 

“You bitch!” Elena shrieked and glared at Caroline before attempting to put her in some headlock maneuver. It didn’t work and she only managed to topple onto Caroline. Caroline’s protest sounded more like a hiss and was so unexpected that they both froze before bursting into a fit of giggles. The two continued to laugh and hug as though they were long lost friends reuniting until they passed out on the floor.

 

“Ugh, we didn’t even eat!” Elena exclaimed as she woke up sometime around midnight. She pushed off the floor and moved the bottles away before deciding to crawl over to the small dinette set near the front of their room.

 

“I’m so glad we’re vampires,” Caroline muttered and shook her head as if to clear the last effects of alcohol. “We’d be past ‘stomach pumping’ if we were human,” she said staring at the empty bottles.

 

“Probably more like body bag,” Elena finally stood up and began plating up their late dinner.

 

“I can’t believe we passed out like that and can function a few hours later,” Caroline said as they sat down in front of the table and ate. “So you’re really gonna leave? It will be weird without you here.”

 

“Aww, we’ll keep in touch; email, Skype…I won’t disappear, honest.”

 

“So about being honest,” Caroline began. Elena looked over and she took a deep breath before continuing. “I am sorry I wasn’t supportive of you when you and Damon got together.”

 

Elena gave her a small smile before scooting her chair over and wrapping an arm around her shoulder. “I’ll admit, it sucked, but I get why, given your history.” She remembered the marks on her friend’s skin but never asked and given Caroline’s animosity towards Damon, it certainly wasn’t good.

 

“If I didn’t do what I did, with Klaus, I wouldn’t have understood it and related,” she admitted. “I half expected you to give me that attitude just as I gave it to you.”

 

“Like I said that day, I wanted to, but apparently my brain helped me see things differently,” Elena replied. “Since we’re apologizing, I need to apologize to you when my emotions were turned off. I said and did some mean things to hurt you and your mom. It was pretty fucked up.”

 

Caroline knew just how upset Elena was by her swearing. “We’re good now, right?”

 

“Yeah, we’re good. But how are _you_ doing?”

 

Caroline shrugged as she grabbed some breadsticks and handed Elena one. “Okay, Tyler’s been trying to get a hold of me. He wants me back and says he’s sorry,” she said and rolled her eyes. “He left me to seek revenge on the Original Hybrid and now that he’s back, he wants...no, I think he expects me to come back to him!” She shook her head and looked up at the ceiling. “It’s not like I could forget _that_ easily, if at all.”

 

Elena grabbed Caroline’s hand and gave her a reassuring squeeze. “So you’re going to be with Klaus then?” Elena asked with concern. “Because if you are, you need to make yourself clear with Tyler. You don’t want to end up like me. Believe me,” she added with a half hearted chuckle.

 

“No, like I said when you both came back, I’m not ready to be with him. I want a few more life experiences in under my belt,” Caroline admitted. What she didn’t want to say out loud was how intimidated the prospect of being with Klaus was. He had been around for a millennia, while she was in only her nineteenth year on earth. It was at that moment, chatting with her friend that she realized she _did_ need more life experiences. The man who fancied her lived _several_ lifetimes and she was barely into one. Caroline explained the very thing to Elena before adding, “Plus I want to be sure this wasn’t a rebound thing. He’s willing to move slow, to give us a chance to get to know each other.”

 

“I think that’s a good idea. You’ll have to make sure Tyler understands. By you avoiding him, he’s just going to continue with his emails and texts.”

 

“I know,” Caroline replied and gave a heavy hearted sigh. “I just have to build up my courage and find the right words. So you’re going to tell Bonnie and Jeremy tomorrow?”

 

Elena nodded. “If she stayed tonight, we could have had our slumber party but I’ll spend time with her when I’m there. Maybe we’ll go to the Lake House and just hang out.”  
  


“Since it sounds like I won’t see you after the weekend,” Caroline remarked. A part of her wanted to cry knowing she wasn’t going to see her friend for a while but, at the same time, she wanted to show her support. She steeled herself and smiled brightly at Elena. “You have to promise the next time we’re all together, we have a slumber party, no matter what, okay?!”

 

Elena laughed and nodded, grateful for Caroline’s support. “No matter what!”

 

**~Mystic Falls - the Next Morning~**

 

After Jeremy left for school, Bonnie drove over to a small coffee shop the next town over. After ordering a latte and a croissant, she sat down at a quiet, corner table and waited for Aria to show up.

 

She was checking her phone for messages when she felt a light tap on her shoulder. “Excuse me, Bonnie? Bonnie Bennett?” a tall, brunette asked in a soft, European accented voice.

 

“Aria?” Bonnie noted that the woman was probably a few years older than her and if she was an animated character, she probably resembled Princess Jasmine of Disney’s Aladdin.

 

The young woman nodded with a smile, extending her hand out for Bonnie to shake. “Aria Mubarak, it’s nice to meet you. Let me get something to drink; I’ll be right back.”

 

Minutes later, Aria returned with a chai and a muffin and sat across from Bonnie. “I’m so glad you agreed to meet. I didn’t get you out of classes, did I?”

 

Bonnie shook her head. “I don’t have classes on Fridays.”

 

Aria laughed. “I did the same thing. So where are you studying?”

 

“Right now, I’m at Whitmore College and I’m undeclared since it’s my first year. It’s close to home, plus it’s where my two best friends are. Where did you go?”

 

“I grew up outside of Washington D.C., but went to boarding schools in Europe most of my life,” Aria explained. “My first two years were at a university in France, but then I graduated last year from Georgetown, political science.”

 

“So how do you know the Mikaelsons?” Bonnie asked as she gauged the woman sitting next to her. Bonnie thought that she seemed friendly and so far didn’t give her any indication she was someone who couldn’t be trusted. But, Bonnie was still cautious; the whole Professor Shane incident still haunted her mind - he also gave her no reason _not_ to be trusted and it led her to her demise.

 

Aria looked around and moved her chair closer to Bonnie, giving them a sense of privacy. “Rebekah saved my great-grandparents when they first visited New Orleans sometime in the 1900s. When grand-mère realized I had the skills to be a witch she told me the story. It was as though she considered herself somewhat of an ally even though she knew other witches wouldn’t understand the reasoning.”

 

Bonnie understood why Aria felt loyal even though she herself didn’t feel the same way towards them. “So have you given her an answer yet?”

 

“Not yet,” Aria began and started peeling the muffin paper away. “I wanted to meet with you first because I would like your guidance and I wanted to be sure you’d be on board.” She took a sip of her beverage and continued. “As I explained, something strange is going on in New Orleans and all signs point to some imbalance there.”

 

“Signs?”

 

Aria looked around nervously to make sure nobody was listening in on their conversation. If she could burn some sage this very minute. Instead, she leaned closer to Bonnie. “I have the ability to speak to the dead, but sometimes it requires more of my energy than others.”

 

“Okay,” Bonnie replied though it sounded more like a question to Aria’s vague response.

 

“It’s hard to explain and I don’t want to go into too much detail right away. Basically, my family is witch on my mother’s side. My father’s Egyptian and his ancient ancestors were priests and priestesses for the pharaohs.”

 

“Wow!” Bonnie exclaimed. “You can trace your family history that far back?”

 

“They kept scrolls. I’m actually named after a priestess during Ptolemy’s reign. Some of the spells there help me communicate with them but, like I said, it takes me a while to recover after.” She must have sensed Bonnie’s confusion so she quickly added. “My magic comes from both sides of my family.”

 

“So…” Bonnie began. “Where do I come in?”

 

“So as an anchor, I’m hoping to draw your energy to help me so I can find the answers to help their city regain balance.”

 

“But what if they took advantage of that and upset the balance themselves?” Bonnie asked. She wanted to be sure she knew what she was getting into, before getting involved in something potentially destructive.

 

“I can help everybody understand when the time comes, you included. It might require a slight tip of balance in our favor, but it would only be temporarily,” Aria replied cryptically. “I can see you have your doubts, so I’ll let you mull it over. If you want, we can walk over to the park over there and it’s private enough where you can contact your grandmother to verify.”

 

It sounded like a good idea and Bonnie could use the fresh air. She grabbed the rest of her coffee and together, they headed across the street. They found a picnic nestled amongst some trees, giving the two a sense of privacy and sat across from each other.

 

“So what now,” Bonnie asked as they both set their drinks on the table.

 

“Do what you normally do to try to contact her. I’ll help,” Aria said. “It will be like a signal boost for a radio, if that makes sense,” she explained.

 

Bonnie closed her eyes, as she focused on reaching out to her Grams. In the background, she could hear Aria softly chanting.

 

“Yes, child?” Grams asked as she stood by a tree a few feet away from where Bonnie and Aria were sitting.

 

“Did you hear Aria earlier?” Bonnie asked, knowing she was speaking the words out loud. Even though she knew she was talking to her Grams, a part of her wondered if this was some sort of trick - much like the tricks Silas used to get his way.

 

Grams nodded and looked over at Aria who had her eyes closed and was still chanting away. “Now, I could tell you stories of your childhood and how you loved visiting me all the time, but we honestly don’t have the time. She’s correct and you have every right to doubt what you’re seeing and what you’ll be hearing.” She gave Bonnie a look that was, unmistakably Grams - one that Bonnie saw a few times in her childhood when she misbehaved.

 

The gesture was enough to convince Bonnie that she was really speaking to Grams and nodded for her to continue. “There is an imbalance and it needs to be stopped. With your help and some from this side, we will be able to give her the power she needs.”

 

“We?” Bonnie asked. “But how?”

 

“There are some witches here on this side that are going to help you both.” Grams looked over at Aria once more. “She will explain it all. I know it sounds mysterious, but give her time and she will explain everything.”

 

“But what about the Originals? Can we trust them?” Bonnie asked.

 

Grams closed her eyes for a moment. “You will, eventually. You know my views on vampires but this thing that’s happening, is bigger. Our nature to dislike vampires will have to be put aside.”

 

Bonnie sighed, realizing her Grams had a point. She got up slowly from the bench and walked closer towards her grandmother, stopping at the edge of the table. “Can she do this?” She motioned with her head towards Aria.

 

“Bonnie, you need to listen to this because it is important - Aria’s magic is different than ours. It’s not evil like Expression, but you might still consider her methods unorthodox. She is going to try to regain balance. It _will_ mean you’ll be working with those we considered enemies for a while, but you can do it - we all can and I’ll be watching you, as always.”

 

Bonnie nodded. She felt a little more at ease about the idea of working with Aria now that she had her chance to talk it over. She was still unsure with what was happening but figured the answers would come soon. She looked at her Grams and smiled, wishing she could wrap her arms around her for all her advice. “Okay Grams, I’ll keep that in mind.” Bonnie turned and began walking back towards her spot on the picnic bench.

 

“Good, have Aria call Rebekah,” Grams called out. “You will all need to find a neutral spot to meet and you might want to bring Caroline.”

 

Tears glazed over Bonnie’s eyes as she nodded again. “I miss you, Grams.”

 

“I miss you too, child. Tell Aria that Evie says hi. Oh, and please let your friend Elena know that she won’t turn into Katherine. She has the opportunity to be her own person and embrace the strength and wisdom she was given. I have to go now but I’ll be in touch again.”

 

“I love you, Grams,” Bonnie whispered. Tears fell from her eyes as her grandmother’s image faded away.

 

Aria stopped chanting and opened her eyes. “Bonnie, are you alright?” Aria asked as she reached into her purse for a tissue to hand to Bonnie.

 

“I’m fine,” Bonnie replied and dabbed her eyes. “Did you really help me right there?” Aria nodded. “Sorry, I wanted to make sure what you said was true. I figured Grams would verify and she did. I just had bad experiences, no hard feelings?”

 

Aria smiled as she held her hand out. “I understand, none taken. Do you want to stay while I call Rebekah?”

 

Bonnie shrugged as she returned the smile. “Sure. Grams did say we need to suggest we meet at a neutral spot and that I bring my friend Caroline.”

 

“Oh?”

 

“She’s one of my best friends and is a vampire, if that bothers you,” Bonnie replied. She was tempted to tell Aria how Caroline was the object of Klaus’ affections but she didn’t want to sound like she was gossiping about one of her best friends.

 

“That’s cool you’re friends with a vampire,” Aria said and smiled. “If she has no issues with me, I won’t with her. I guess you could say I don’t adhere to the notion that all vampires are bad.” She pulled out her phone and searched for a number.

 

“Is Evie your grandmother?” Bonnie asked.

 

Aria paused and nodded. “That was her nickname. Her given name was Rebecca Evelyn. Her parents named her after their savior.”

 

“My Grams said she said ‘hi’ to you.”

 

There were tears in Aria’s eyes as she smiled softly. “I had a feeling she watched over me. Thank you, Bonnie for letting me know.” She used the back of her hand to wipe the tears on her cheeks before pressing a button on the phone.

 

“Hello Rebekah, it’s Aria, sorry to keep you waiting. I have your answer.”

 

**~Meanwhile, in New Orleans~**

 

Rebekah was trying to not get her hopes up as she answered her phone. Out of all the other witches she knew, Aria was probably her best hope. Rebekah was banking on the fact that the girl’s family still held her in high regard after saving her great-grandparents from being mugged and possibly murdered nearly a century ago.

 

“Hello Aria,” Rebekah replied as she walked towards the docks. It was bound to be full of tourists since the latest cruise ship just arrived an hour ago and she easily blended into the crowd as she continued talking on the phone.

 

“I will be able to help you,” Aria said. “I hope you don’t mind that I bring someone along to help.”

 

Rebekah was relieved and leaned against an old brick building as she thanked the gods above. While she didn’t like the fact that the witch recruited help, she figured even with Nik on her side, they’d have an advantage.

 

“Fine,” she said curtly. “When can you come here and undo all the witch business?”

 

“I’d rather we all meet up and work out a plan,” Aria said calmly. “I’m near the D.C. area, but let’s find somewhere half way.”

 

Rebekah didn’t like that they needed to come up with a plan but agreed all the same. “How about Atlanta? Can you be there in a few days?”

 

Aria must have muted the phone for a minute and Rebekah wondered if the witch was with this unknown ally. “We can meet next weekend,” she said a few minutes later.

 

It would have been better if they could meet right away but she knew better than to upset the witch and agreed.

 

“Fine, I’ll text you with the details,” Rebekah said, sounding exasperated and ended the call before sending a message to her brother.

 

_Meet me at the warehouse. Have news._

 

Within minutes, her phone indicated a new text message.

 

_I’ll be there shortly._

 

* * *

 

 

“Okay, we will be there next week and we’ll meet with them sometime Thursday or Friday night,” Aria said when she ended the call. “Will your friend be able to join?”

 

“I’ll let her know. In the meantime, don’t reveal who your partner is. It might be an advantage we can use.” Bonnie wasn’t sure Rebekah would want to be in the same room as her, much less want her help.

 

Aria gave a little smirk. “I like your thinking.” She looked at her watch. “Hey, I’ve got to run, meeting some friends for dinner back in D.C. My father’s got a place in Atlanta there’s plenty of room for us all if you’re interested. I’ll send you the details when I get them and we can coordinate.”

 

“Sure, that sounds cool,” Bonnie replied.

 

“Thank you again, Bonnie. It was good meeting you,” Aria said and gave her a small hug before leaving.

 

Once she was gone, Bonnie walked back to her car and sent a text message to Caroline before she headed back to Mystic Falls.

 

_Don’t make plans next weekend, it’ll be a long Girls Only weekend!_

 

 

**~Whitmore College~**

 

After a pancake breakfast morning, Caroline and Elena hung out at their dorm as Elena packed some clothes for her weekend trip and started to set aside some other things for her other adventure.

 

Caroline was keeping herself busy by folding and packing Elena’s things into the small rolling suitcase. As much as she respected her friend’s decision to find herself, a part of her was sad that one of her long time, childhood friends was leaving.

 

When Bonnie’s text message came through, it lifted Caroline’s spirits and she quickly responded.

 

_Hell,_ _yeah! I’m game! Anywhere special?_

 

The answer came less than a minute later.

 

_Atlanta :)_

 

“Okay, Care, I’m ready,” Elena said a few minutes later. They hugged before Elena opened the door. “You should call him tonight since it will be nice and quiet here.”

 

Caroline nodded and waved as she watched Elena walk away. She took her phone and scrolled through her contact list to the name she was looking for.

 

_Hi, if you’re not busy tonight, can I call you?_

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what do you think? Any guesses? Love to hear from you. 
> 
> Until next time!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the reviews and alerts :). I’m glad y’all are enjoying the story so far. Of course, the story probably wouldn’t look half as good without my awesome team of prereaders and beta—darknnerdy, hannahperry85 (happy birthday!), kjsama and the amazing cecevolume. 
> 
> I don’t own the characters, they belong to their respective books/shows. I’m just having fun creating a whole new world for them. 
> 
> Enjoy

Klaus was in his studio when he received Rebekah’s text message and replied after putting some finishing touches on his latest piece. Once he was satisfied, he went next door to his room and cleaned up. He couldn’t tell from the message whether or not it was good news but figured if it had been bad, Rebekah would have called screaming bloody murder.

 

When Klaus walked down to the main floor, he was disturbed by the sight before him. Elijah was, as usual of late, doting over the pregnant wolf girl. This time, he was catering to her as though he was her manservant, bringing a tray of food over to her as she lounged on one of the antique silk chairs as though she was a queen. Both were unaware of their audience as they were both lost in their own world. Having seen more than enough, Klaus, a scowl of disgust on his face, rushed out the door never uttering a single word.

 

He was a few blocks away from the warehouse when his phone vibrated with another message. Thinking it was Rebekah growing impatient, he pulled his phone out in a huff and looked at the screen, ready to send a scathing reply back to his sister.

 

_Hi, if you’re not busy tonight, can I call you?_

 

He paused as he stared at his phone in shock. His first inclination was to believe it was an illusion, but then he realized, from the sounds of the cruise ship tourists nearby and the smells from the Mississippi River, he wasn’t dreaming and it was indeed real. Smiling, he typed out a message to her.

 

_How about I call you tonight?_

 

Her response came less than a minute later.

 

_Okay, I’m just going to have some ‘me’ time so call me whenever._

 

He wasn’t sure what exactly that entailed, but figured he’d have an opportunity to ask later.

 

_I’ll speak to you later, Caroline._

 

He looked at the time and noted there were still hours before he could find time to talk to Caroline. Klaus took a moment and moved away from the road to gather his thoughts— he was looking forward to tonight but there was more to it. It wasn’t _just_ the anticipation he was feeling, like the ‘date’ they had for the Miss Mystic Falls competition. He was truly happy that she reached out to him on her own.

 

As much as he wanted to think about Caroline and their phone call though, the first thing he needed to do was meet his sister. He powered down his phone and quickly put on his stoic mask of indifference as he continued to walk towards the warehouse. He paid zero attention to the scenery as he usually did; ignoring the old buildings and the iron trellises that had withstood time and natural disasters. Instead, he used the time to clear the lingering thoughts about Caroline Forbes and began wondering about Rebekah’s news— hoping it was positive.

 

“There you are, Nik!” Rebekah said irritably as soon as he shut the metal door for privacy.

 

He walked over to where Rebekah was sitting, noting there was some sort of fabric covering the dirty chairs. “I was painting, little sister,” he replied, sounding put off for being disturbed. “I take it you have news?”

 

“Aria called and she agreed to help us,” Rebekah announced and waited for her brother’s reaction.

 

“Aria… remind me how you know her?” he asked. He made sure he looked bored as he began walking around the warehouse, almost casually, as though he was inside a museum. He didn’t want to appear relieved or show any emotion at all.

 

She scowled realizing he wasn’t as excited or relieved as she was. “I saved her great grandparents here in New Orleans nearly a century ago. A robber who was about to harm them. They were tourists and had gotten lost when they were confronted. Something about them moved me and I pulled the hooligan away. They were grateful I saved them and I managed to have a meal after they left.”

 

“Ah yes, I remember,” he replied, nodding his head slightly. He continued pacing, the circle having grown smaller. “It was 1914. The ruffian had taken his wallet and was about to resort to violence. She was with child, yes?”

 

The younger Mikaelson nodded, not understanding why her brother was asking so many questions. It reminded her of a court hearing; the only thing missing on her brother was a barrister wig. “The grandmother…they named her Rebecca, though she went by her nickname Evie, short for Evelyn. She was a witch.”

 

“She was named after you?” Looking very much like the evil hybrid he was known to be, he turned around suddenly, glaring at his sister. Before she could respond, he continued. “But what about this Aria? What do you know about her?” The muscles on his body tensed and his casual pacing now resembled a ruthless predator on the hunt.

 

“Her mother never had the gift of magic, but Aria inherited the gift and was taught by her grandmother,” Rebekah rattled off. “Her name is Aria Mubarak; her father’s of Egyptian descent.”

 

She began to feel defensive as her brother continued to move about like a caged tiger. She was also a little worried that he might have discovered something she had overlooked. Quickly dismissing the idea that something was amiss, she sat up straighter and told herself to remain confident as she waited for another barrage of questions from him.

 

“Very well, little sister,” Klaus replied with a smirk. He had purposely tried to intimidate his sister as a test of her fortitude. He also figured, if this was some grand scheme she hatched up to betray him, she would have reacted differently. He was certain, if she was deceiving him in some manner, she would have revealed _something_ during his antics. Instead, she was nervous, but remained calm and defended herself. “So when is she coming here?”

 

“She isn’t,” Rebekah blurted out as she anticipated more questions. “She wants to meet first at a neutral location and I suggested Atlanta.”

 

“Hmm,” Klaus murmured as he finally stopped moving. “That’s actually not a bad idea given how witches are barred from doing any magic here.”

 

“She has someone working with her, too, Nik.”

 

Klaus was not pleased about the news. One witch was trouble enough, but _two_? “Very well. When do _we_ meet with them and where?”

 

“We?” she asked, certain he would have put up a fuss about meeting with a witch. She kept her face impassive in case he changed his mind.

 

“Surely you don’t expect me to send you on your own to face a couple of witches?” He remarked with a smirk. As much as he’d rather pursue this situation on his own, Rebekah had, thus far, proven herself useful. He wasn’t about to be lulled into thinking she wasn’t above treachery; he knew and expected she would turn on him at some point and usually it was due to circumstances not going her way. Still, he reasoned, it was nice to work with someone, for now.

 

Rebekah nodded reluctantly knowing he wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer. “Fine, but don’t do anything stupid,” she replied flippantly. “This might be our only chance in saving Elijah as well as figuring out what the hell is going on here with these witches.”

 

“Don’t worry, Rebekah. I have no intention of sabotaging the meeting. However, if they try anything, _anything_ to put us in danger, I won’t hesitate to resort to violence.”

 

Rebekah ignored his comment but internally, she agreed to his ‘reasoning’. “We’re meeting them in a week. She asked that I text the details to her.”

 

Klaus thought for a moment. He didn’t want to be _too_ far from New Orleans and the witch requested a neutral spot. He moved to the chair next to hers and sat down. “Atlanta was a good choice, little sister. Kol had a place there, didn’t he?”

 

Rebekah nodded and looked down on the floor at the mention of their brother. “He told me he found an old building, just outside the city limits. It had been a factory of sorts and he kept the façade. Inside, he was going...” she paused knowing those were the last plans of Kol’s. “He was going to transform it so it was livable.”

 

Klaus also stared at the floor, the vision of his brother burning inside the Gilbert house forever etched in his brain. “I remember he mentioned it one of the first nights he returned to Mystic Falls,” he murmured, solemnly. “We had been drinking and he mentioned something about wanting some of my paintings to adorn his new ‘bachelor pad’, as he called it.”

 

“Knowing him, it would have been his den of iniquity,” Rebekah scoffed. She looked over at her brother, her face serious once again. “You know, it could be a good excuse in case Elijah asked. We never went there to clear his belongings.”

 

“It’s a good idea. Maybe we can even use the excuse of providing a place for the _gir—_ for Hayley.” He gritted the name out as though it was bitter poison.

 

“We won’t use that excuse unless he presses us,” Rebekah suggested, sensing her brother’s unease. “I am not sure what the condition of the old factory is so maybe we should look at it before we finalize the plans?” She pulled her phone out and was about to send the message.

 

“Wait,” Klaus said as he placed a hand over her and her phone. Rebekah looked at him with confusion. “Let’s wait a couple days—perhaps after the weekend, before we send her the information. She might have agreed to help our cause, but I’d be more comfortable if we kept an advantage, however slight, in our favor."

 

**~Whitmore College~**

 

_Caroline spent most of the day straightening up the dorm room, clearing the empty liquor bottles and leftover food from the night before. All the while, Tyler kept sending her text messages until finally she had enough and replied with the same message as before. This time adding:_

 

_When I’m ready to talk to you. *I* WILL contact you._

 

As sad as she was with Elena leaving, she was also excited for things to come—her mom was coming up tomorrow to spend the night and then next week, she was going on a road trip with Bonnie.

 

Of course, tonight she was going to talk to Klaus and maybe get his take on this whole baby thing. Up until now, the news had been hearsay—basically coming from Tyler, who didn’t really have high opinions of Klaus. Was she prepared to hear the news if it really was his? _How did he really feel about it?_ More importantly, _how did she?_ She was nervous, for sure, knowing this had the potential of being a serious conversation. She needed to know though, before she invested feelings she should or shouldn’t be having for a man with a child on the way.

 

That wasn’t to say she _wasn’t_ a little excited about talking to him as well. As much as she often dismissed him as though he was a plague, deep down, she enjoyed listening to his voice. Tonight, she’d have that opportunity once again, not just hearing his voicemail either. She kept telling herself not to judge him for his… _whatever it was with whoever she_ was.

 

_After cleaning the bathroom, she went to make Elena’s bed and spotted a note under the pillow addressed to her in Elena’s flowery handwriting. Caroline set the letter on her side of the bed and finished her task before grabbing a blood bag and reading the note._

 

_Hey Care,_

 

_Thank you for being such a good friend over the years. I know I was an evil bitch last summer and I’m glad we were able to move past that. I am not going to say goodbye to you because as vampires, we have lifetimes ahead of us._

 

_Like I said before, we’ll keep in touch and I promise not to disappear off the face of the earth._

 

_Stay strong, Caroline. That is the thing I’ve always admired and was sometimes envious of._

 

_XOXO_

_Elena_

 

_PS - I won’t cancel the Netflix account. It’s charged to the Salvatores anyway. ;)_

 

It was a short note and the last part made Caroline laugh. As she continued to read it a few times, tears started to fall. She realized this was part of growing up and, one day, there was bound to be real goodbyes with some of her other friends, like Matt. She sniffled and wiped the tears off her eyes as she flattened out the letter and went into the closet, pulling a large jewelry box.

 

Feeling nostalgic, she brought it to her bed and began to look through some of her prized possessions— a bright green, plastic ring her dad had gotten her at the fair when she was younger, a dried rose from her Miss Mystic Falls pageant and the diamond bracelet from Klaus. There were also pictures of her parents and friends from over the years among the mismatched items. She set Elena’s note amongst them and pressed a hidden latch on the side, revealing a false bottom. She carefully pulled the charcoal drawing and traced the lines lightly with her fingertips. Ever since Tyler had almost torn the sketch in his fit of jealousy, she had kept it safe and, at the time, her reasoning was that the drawing was just beautiful to throw away. Now, it meant a little more and she was glad she kept it all this time.

 

Now as she sat on her bed and looked at the drawing, Caroline saw the man who drew the picture. The same man she was out in the woods with; the man she could now admit to herself and her closest friends that she liked and maybe one day, it would be more than like. She told herself, as she put her treasures away, that she wasn’t going to rush things and fall for him immediately. Other than a few stories, she really didn’t know him at all and felt as though it really wouldn’t hurt to get to know him better.

 

Feeling in better spirits, she threw her blood bag into the trash and walked to the student center to grab some food. On her way, she figured she was going to watch some movies tonight while she waited to talk to Klaus.

 

After grabbing a burger, fries and a soda, she sat down and had her meal contemplating her movie list for the night. By the time she got back to her dorm she decided to start with an action movie. While most people knew Caroline as a huge fan of romantic-comedies, she did have a secret love for action packed flicks.

 

Just when Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne was trying to, once again, climb out of his prison, the phone rang.

 

“Hello,”she answered never taking her eyes off the TV.

 

“ _Hello Caroline.”_

 

Her heart thudded as she heard the rich tenor of his voice through the phone. She put her finger over the small speaker as she took some calming breaths before placing the phone on mute. Her tummy was doing funny, fluttering things as though she was a giddy school girl. _Calm down, Caroline—it’s just a phone call,_ she chided herself before wiping one hand and then the other on her comforter. Finally feeling calm enough to respond, she unmuted her phone. “Klaus,” she whispered, smiling as she praised herself for sounding calmer than she really was. She was glad he wasn’t there in front of her because she _knew_ she was blushing profusely at this point.

 

“ _Am I interrupting? I could call later.”_

 

“No!”Caroline reached for the remote at the foot of her bed and stopped the movie. “I was just watching ‘The Dark Knight Rises’. I’ll finish it later.”

 

“ _I didn’t know you were a fan of Batman.”_

 

Caroline could practically see him smiling when he said that.

 

“You probably thought I just watched romantic comedies,” she said, practically beaming with happiness, as she stacked her pillows against her headboard and sat back.

 

“ _I do recall you enjoyed movies like the ‘DaVinci Code’.”_

 

“I…” Caroline began. She was about to say something about the Hunter’s Sword but then remembered why he had been trapped in the Gilbert’s house in the first place.

 

“ _What exactly is ‘me’ time for Caroline Forbes?”_ he asked as if he sensed her unease.

 

“Well, you know I live in a dorm with Elena and Bonnie,” she began. “Being an only child and having a workaholic mom, I sometimes like the quiet. Not always, but it is nice to give yourself that time to do whatever you want. You must have something like that, right?” She grimaced and wondered if she making any sense or just rambling. _Oh my god, Caroline, you probably sound like an idiot right now. You’re just talking to a friend!_

 

“ _I suppose my alone time is when I spend time painting,”_ Klaus replied.

 

Caroline smiled as she remembered some of the artwork he showed her during the Mikaelson’s family ball. “So, how are you and New Orleans?”

 

“ _I’m doing well, though there have been some unexpected situations that have slightly tarnished my views of the city._ ”

 

“I’m sorry,” Caroline replied softly. She recalled a voicemail he left her and how happy he sounded as he talked about one of his favorite cities. If she ventured a guess based on his vague response, he wasn’t ready to open up, on his own. “I might have heard something about it.”

 

“ _What did you hear?”_ Klaus asked, his voice sounding strained over the phone.

 

“Bonnie and Elena… they were there when Tyler said something…” Caroline began, stumbling over the right words. “You and a baby?”

 

There was a rustle of noise followed by a loud _“Bollocks!”_ Even though Caroline was far away, she still flinched at his angry outburst. She was about to yell at him on the phone but heard heavy breathing.She hoped he was trying to remain calm, the last thing she wanted was to piss him off.

 

“ _Caroline…_ ” he began.

 

“So it’s true? How?” she whispered. Disappointment washed over her as she realized the rumor was true—not that she wanted to have children right this moment even if she was able to. As much as it hurt, she _had_ to hear it first hand, she reminded herself.

 

“ _I don’t know,”_ Klaus said quietly, almost defeated or exhausted—she wasn’t sure which, it just didn’t sound like his usual self. _“According to the witches, it is some sort of loophole. Or, as they call it, nature’s loophole because I carry the werewolf gene. Rebekah believes it might be a situation conjured by witches.”_

 

“And the mother?” Caroline asked and hated that she was asking but she felt it was the polite thing to do. She was also hoping Rebekah was right in her assumptions.

 

“ _She’s a werewolf… Tyler Lockwood’s friend. The brunette.”_

 

“ _Hayley_ is the mother?” Caroline blurted, spitting the name out like a curse. She sat straight up on the bed. “Why her?!”

 

“ _It was nothing more than a liquor fueled one night stand, although it was less than an hour. It was nothing,”_ Klaus repeated and sighed. _“It was supposed to be nothing,”_ he said, his voice even softer than before.

 

There was silence as Caroline tried to process his words. She knew he had become angry when she first mentioned she knew his predicament. Now, she could tell he was feeling something else.

 

“Would you be okay if it turned out to be a trick?”

 

“ _I can live with that,”_ Klaus replied. _“I can’t get my hopes up, though. As it is, I keep a wide breadth from her. If it weren’t for Elijah fawning over the wolf-girl, she would be living elsewhere.”_

 

Caroline winced knowing Hayley was living with them, but quickly dismissed it given how Klaus so obviously felt about her. “Do you regret it?” she asked. Even though she was asking about the werewolf, a part of her was also asking the question about _them_.

 

“ _Yes, it is as though I’m now serving some sort of penance for my sins,”_ Klaus confessed and added a scoff. _“It was nothing more than quick fuck. Literally, excuse my vulgarity.”_

 

Caroline was taken aback by the hate seething from his words. Even though she wasn’t right there with him, she could tell and was grateful she wasn’t the one those words were aimed at. She didn’t want to ask, but since they were talking she _had_ to know, however painful the answer might be. “What about the woods? Us?”

 

“ _What?!”_ Klaus exclaimed. He let out a growl of anger. _“No, I do not, Caroline. Do you? Do you regret it?”_

 

“I don’t,” she replied, almost immediately. She was relieved he didn’t have second thoughts about what they did.

 

“ _I do need to confess something, however. I wouldn’t call it regret, but I wished our time together was longer. I would have wanted to ravage you on one-thousand count, Egyptian cotton sheets, maybe have you pressed up against a shower wall. Then, maybe bend you over a table and take you that way. I would have wanted more than a few hours, if I could.”_

 

There was silence as Caroline closed her eyes and imagined everything he just described. Her body was already reacting and she let out a soft moan. She shut her eyes and imagined his hands on her once more. “What if I wanted to pin your hands down and ravaged you?” her voice was softer and huskier now.

 

“ _Oh love, I bet you’d look magnificent. As I recall, even with leaves stuck in your hair, you were already a vision.”_

 

“Klaus,” she began with a whisper. She was playing with fire by talking to him in the first place. Now she was going to explode like a supernova if they continued their phone sex.

 

“ _Caroline, I must apologize, I didn’t mean to take the conversation in that direction. I merely wanted to explain myself, not assume that we’d have intercourse over the phone.”_

 

Caroline couldn’t help but laugh at Klaus’ misuse of words. “Phone sex,” she explained. “That’s the term.”

 

Klaus chuckled on the other end. _“If you couldn’t tell, it was my first time I’ve had to use the word,”_ he joked.

 

“What is it that they say?” Caroline asked rhetorically, happy that they were able to sidestep _that_ part of the conversation and things were once again lighthearted. “You’re a cheeky bastard!” She even tried, unsuccessfully to mimic a British accent to get the point across.

 

“ _Oh, sweetheart, that was a terrible accent!”_ he teased.

 

The two continued to laugh before Klaus spoke again. “ _So all of Mystic Falls know by now, I gather,”_ Klaus said.

 

“Other than Bonnie, Elena, and my mom, I haven’t really spent time talking to them,” Caroline confessed, knowing he was referring to the baby news. “From what Bonnie said, Tyler was being a dick when he announced it.”

 

“ _So you weren’t there?”_

 

“No, after I got to the boarding house, I stayed for a few minutes and then Tyler arrived,” Caroline began, blushing from the memories. “I… I sort of got a little paranoid that someone would catch onto the fact I had been gone most of the day, so I left and drove back to my dorm. What about Rebekah? Did she say anything about where you were?”

 

“ _She was able to deduce that I saw you,”_ Klaus replied. _“I didn’t elaborate more on that, nor would I have if she asked.”_

 

Caroline decided that since the conversation had been pleasant so far, it wouldn’t hurt to tell him more. “I sort of freaked out when Bonnie and Elena told me about the news… your news. I told them about us in the woods.”

 

The phone was silent for a moment. “ _And?_ ” he asked.

 

“They support me and want me to be happy,” Caroline explained as she began playing with her necklace. “I know, it’s shocking, right? Because it sure surprised the hell out of me. They’re not necessarily on Team Klaus yet, but they support me with my decisions.”

 

“ _It sounds like being away from Mystic Falls has done them some good._

 

Caroline could imagine that infamous smirk of his. “Yeah, it’s like we’re growing up.” She then told Klaus about Elena and how she encouraged her to speak to him. She didn’t elaborate how her friend now had Katherine’s conscience. “Yeah, so she’s going to talk to the Salvatores and then she wants to go discover herself,” Caroline explained.

 

“ _I suppose the Salvatore brothers won’t be pleased with her decision. I’m willing to bet they will eventually run off to find her.”_

 

“I wouldn’t be surprised either,” Caroline admitted. “I guess we’ll see, right?”

 

“ _Well, sweetheart, it is getting late, and I know you probably want to finish your movie. Perhaps we can talk another time? You’re always welcome to text, as well,”_ Klaus said.

 

“Okay. It was really good to talk to you tonight,” she said with all honesty. “Good night, Klaus. I hope things start to look up for you.”

 

“ _Thank you, Caroline. Pleasant dreams to you as well.”_

 

When the call ended, Caroline sat on her bed, glad she had the nerve to initiate the phone call. She grabbed her pillow and hugged it tightly as she thought about the idea of Klaus with _her_. It hurt to know the rumors had been true but it hurt even more that it was with Hayley—she still hadn’t forgotten how the werewolf snapped her neck right before the hybrids were sacrificed. He was honest, though, and that meant something. Or rather, it meant a lot to her that he opened up. She grabbed the remote and switched the movie back on deciding the next one was definitely going to be a romantic comedy.

 

**~Louisiana~**

 

Klaus leaned up against the hood of his car as he stared across the black water towards New Orleans. He had just ended his phone call with Caroline and wanted a few moments to reflect before heading back to the city. His decision to find a quiet place to call was definitely a wise one, he thought.

 

_After feeding on a couple vagrants, he had thought about going back home to call her, but decided not to; his siblings would undoubtedly hear their conversation and he didn’t need Rebekah taunting him or Elijah… Who knew what his older brother would think. Going somewhere in the city wasn’t a good choice either, since the minions were around and word might get back to Marcel of a possible weakness that could be exploited. Instead, he drove across the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway and found a deserted spot along the shore facing New Orleans._

 

As he stared at the lake and the only reflection from the half moon above, he thought about how he first reacted when he discovered Caroline knew about the baby. He was ready to hunt down the Lockwood whelp and rip entrails out; piece by painful piece, before finally tearing his heart and watching him die before his very eyes. She managed to surprise him with her reaction to the girl’s name. _Was it jealousy?_ He was certain it was or, rather, he _hoped_ it was as he pushed himself off his car and started gathering a handful of small rocks— tossing them so they skipped along the water.

 

When she asked whether or not he regretted _their_ time out in the woods, he truly believed she was hoping he would, as a means of avoiding any guilt she might have had. That had been her basic modus operandi, so he _expected_ her to admit it was a mistake. As painful as it would have been to hear, he turned the tables and asked if she regretted their rendezvous. When she admitted she didn’t, he felt as though some of his stress left his body.

 

He hadn’t expected that their conversation would turn into something more. He hadn’t meant to seduce her over the phone. He’d begun to harden when he heard her soft moan and when she taunted him, he had to lean his forehead on the steering wheel as he begged the ancient gods for mercy. Lucky for him, his faux pas was an ice breaker and the rest of the call was lighthearted and pleasant.

 

Feeling inspired, he got in his car and headed back to New Orleans. He figured he’d stop in at Rousseau’s just to wreak a little havoc on Marcel and his merry band of misfits. Then, upon returning home and taking a cold shower, he planned to spend the rest of his night painting.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think? 
> 
> I totally imagined Klaus being paranoid about the possibility his sister was going to double-cross him at some point. I also pictured him nervous and maybe even uncomfortable with Caroline—that any minute she’ll change her mind about him and walk away. Because that was what was pretty much instilled on him all those years and centuries. 
> 
> If you have questions or comments, let me know. I usually reply to them right before the next chapter goes up. :)
> 
> Until next time! ~ sushi


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s been a crazy, busy past few weeks—sorry for the lack of updates. Sometimes real life really gets in the way with the fun things. :) Like tonight for example—I was going to update this about 2 hours ago but lost power and then had a couple freaky power surges in the hood—seriously, it was like a freaking sci-fi movie! :-/  
> In case you didn’t notice, I also changed my pen name a little from Sushi loves Whitlock to catslovesushi. It’s a little more generic than the previous name. I’m still me though. :P   
> Thank you to my wonderful team for making this look really pretty - hannahperry85, kjsama and the amazing cecevolume. 
> 
> Enough of the craziness. Here we go! 
> 
> As always, I don’t own the characters—they belong to their respective shows and books. I’m just having a little fun with them.

Caroline spent Saturday and most of Sunday with her mom, a rarity for her since Liz was always working. Given that this weekend had been planned for a while and actually required Liz to take time off to visit, it was a relaxing time for mother and daughter. They ate at one of the local restaurants and stayed up late watching movies. The next morning, they had brunch and then walked around campus.

As they neared the old Main building, Liz stopped and looked at her daughter. “Honey, what’s going on between you and Tyler?” Liz asked with concern.

“What do you mean?” Caroline asked innocently.

Liz gave her a knowing look that she didn’t buy the innocent look. “He’s come over a couple times and asked when you were coming back to town. I thought you two broke up?”

“We did,” Caroline replied. “He changed his mind about wanting to break up, apparently.”

“Caroline, I hope you’re not going to run back to him because he can’t make up his mind,” her mother said sternly. “If you are planning to, do it on your terms, not his.”

Caroline appreciated her mom’s concern. She could almost imagine her mom was taking a life experience of her own to share with her daughter.

“I don’t want to,” Caroline admitted.

“Good,” Liz continued. “It can only bring nothing but resentment for both of you.” Liz looked over at her daughter, noticing the slight wrinkle on her forehead and how she was biting her lip. “It’s not your father—just a little thing with a boy… a long time ago,” she replied, giving a reassuring hug to Caroline. “I just wanted to give you some motherly advice.”

The subtle change in subject was a clue for Caroline not to ask about the mysterious boy. “You’re right,” she replied. “I have been avoiding him because I want to make the right decision before talking to him.”

Liz pulled Caroline into another hug as they continued walk around campus. “So when are you coming back home?”

“I’m not sure,” Caroline said. “Bonnie and I are planning a road trip next weekend. It’s sort of a girl thing. So maybe the weekend after?”

“Just let me know when so I can take at least one of the days off to spend with you,” Liz replied and looked at her watch. “You and Bonnie?” Liz asked. “What about Elena?”

Caroline explained that Elena wanted some time to herself and maybe travel. Just as she had done when she talked to Klaus, she left the whole ‘transfer of conscience’ out. It was bad enough her mom was subjected to so much supernatural stuff, so she figured there was no harm leaving that part out. Besides, she reasoned, it was a personal thing for Elena and she didn’t feel right talking about it to others.

“I suppose that makes sense given everything that girl’s gone through.” Her mom looked at her watch again and sighed. “Shoot, I should head back home. I’m sorry, Caroline, I have the overnight shift, so I want to grab a nap beforehand.”

Caroline nodded and together they walked back to her dorm room and helped her mom pack her things.

**~*~*~*~**

About an hour after Liz left, Bonnie came back. Caroline could tell she had been crying and immediately went over to give her friend a hug.

“She left,” Bonnie muttered as she tried to stifle her tears.

“I know,” Caroline replied, now feeling misty eyed herself. She reached over to grab some Kleenex and handed the box to Bonnie, leading her over to her bed. “She told me on Friday.”

“I guess it’s sort of normal, right?” Bonnie asked as she wiped her eyes. “I mean, it just so happened we stayed together to go to college but it doesn’t always end that way, after high school.”

Caroline shook her head and turned to face her friend. “I guess this is another one of those ‘growing up’ things. At least she’s just going to travel and find herself. It was a lot worse when we found out you had died.”

Bonnie shivered at the memories of that moment when she saw her own corpse lying on the ground. “I could see you all but couldn’t do or say any damn thing about it. I guess when you put it in that perspective, it doesn’t hurt as much.”

“Only in Mystic Falls, right?”

Bonnie chuckled and nodded. “Okay, enough of the sad talk. Are you looking forward to Atlanta?”

“Oh my god, yes!” Caroline exclaimed. “So what are we going to do?”

Bonnie explained the reason why they were headed there, beginning with meeting Aria.

“Whoa, her family served the Pharaohs?” Caroline said, shocked and impressed with the news. “So what else happened?”

“I think she helped me get in contact with Grams,” Bonnie said. “You know how I had been trying to get a hold of her but hadn’t. Well, Aria and I went to a nearby park, I sat down and focused on Grams, and before I knew it, she appeared. She basically told me that I could trust Aria and she could undo the imbalance that’s occurring in New Orleans. She did tell me Aria’s magic is unorthodox but it wasn’t necessarily bad, like Expression was.”

“So you’re okay with trusting the Originals?” Caroline asked, knowing Bonnie’s dislike of vampires that weren’t her childhood friends.

“I’m not entirely comfortable with the idea, to be honest. I think that’s why Grams said you should go with me when we meet with Rebekah.”

“She did?” Caroline asked and wondered to herself why they would want her there.

“Oh no!” Caroline suddenly exclaimed as she stood up, shaking her head. “I’m not going to be some sort of Klaus bait for witches, Bonnie.”

“Care, it’s not—”

“NO!” Caroline yelled, her hands at her hips as she glared at her friend. “I _hate_ being a distraction for him. I can’t Bonnie, I can’t and I won’t.” It hurt knowing her friend only wanted her along so she could be some sort of pawn. She knew Damon never had any qualms about it, but Bonnie? Caroline was trying not to break down in tears.

Bonnie sensed her friend’s distress and held up her hands in an attempt to show she wasn’t trying to hurt her. “Care, you’re not bait,” she replied firmly and waited until Caroline relaxed from her defensive posture.

It took a minute or so of intense staring before Caroline’s hands dropped and she moved to sit on her own bed. “Okay, talk.” She brought her knees up and hugged them as she waited for Bonnie to continue her explanation.

“I don’t have any intention of making you some sort of lure for Klaus,” Bonnie began, moving to Elena’s bed so she could be closer to Caroline. “Hell, I don’t even know if he’ll even be there! Even if he was, I wouldn’t put you in that situation; I’m not Damon.”

Caroline rested her chin on her knees as she contemplated the words. Bonnie had an excellent point—she wasn’t Damon and he wasn’t even a part of this situation. A part of her felt bad for reacting so strongly against her best friend. It was hard for her to _not_ feel as though there was an ulterior motive for going on this mini vacation given all that has happened in their lives. _Was it even_ _considered_ _a vacation?_ She turned to look at her friend. “Why Atlanta?” It was all she could ask. She hoped Bonnie would understand she was starting to feel a little insecure and could easily revert back to human Caroline.

Bonnie gave her a small, reassuring smile. “I wanted my friend there to support me. I don’t know Aria except for that meeting we had. If you’re there, I would feel a little more at ease.”

“If there’s danger, I can’t fight Rebekah,” Caroline said as she moved to sit cross legged. “Do I need to be there when you meet with her?”

Bonnie shrugged and copied Caroline’s movements. “I am not forcing you, Care. If you want to just come along for the road trip, I’d like that too.”

“So where are we staying?” Caroline asked.

“Not sure,” Bonnie replied. “Aria said something about staying at her dad’s place and that there was plenty of room.”

“Um, Bonnie? What if I can’t walk in there? Are you sure we can trust her?”

Bonnie looked at her friend. Anybody else would have thought Caroline was being unreasonably paranoid but she knew better. Her friend had not only been used as bait, but she had also been tortured by her father, werewolves, and hybrids. “Well, maybe we get a hotel room nearby?” she suggested.

“We might want to think about it. I mean, what if she has a grand plan to stake me or something? _That_ would suck.” Caroline looked down on her bedspread and started tracing some random design with her finger. “No, forget it… I’m just overreacting.” Caroline knew she was probably being completely irrational as soon as Bonnie gave her more details about their upcoming road trip.

She was pissed off at first when she thought she was being used, but it subsided when her friend explained the situation and how Klaus might not even show up. For a moment, she felt sad and disappointed that she wouldn’t see him and _that_ was what disturbed her the most. She still wanted to take her time and figure life out, it seemed the more she tried to make plans for her future, the more unsure she seemed to be.

“No, we can get a hotel if we need to; my dad left a trust in my name, so it would be my treat,” Bonnie replied and noticed Caroline still looked preoccupied. “Is everything okay, Care?” She reached over and gave her friend a little shake.

“Huh?” Caroline remarked and then blushed when she realized she had zoned out. “Oh, I was just thinking.”

“I think you were on a different planet,” Bonnie joked before looking serious again. “Is something bothering you?”

Caroline chewed her bottom lip as she quickly debated whether to talk to Bonnie about Klaus and the fact _they_ talked the night before. Could she trust Bonnie not to judge her? She looked up at Bonnie and took a deep breath as she realized she _needed_ to confide in someone.

“Sort of,” Caroline mumbled. “Klaus and I talked last night and it was nice.” She paused as she expected Bonnie to say something, but she just nodded as if to encourage her to continue. “We talked about the baby and he explained it was with Hayley.”

“Hayley?” Bonnie asked, her eyes wide with shock. “Tyler’s friend, Hayley? The one you said wore a super short, red dress to the Miss Mystic Falls pageant?”

“The one and only,” Caroline replied cynically, adding a roll of her eyes for effect. “He said what happened was supposed to have been nothing but meaningless sex. Somehow, it became more, or as he called it, a loophole and his hands seem tied. He also said Rebekah has a theory that it could be some sort of witch curse or whatever, but there’s no proof.” She looked over at Bonnie. “Oh, do you think that is the imbalance in New Orleans?”

“It could be,” Bonnie admitted. “Though, I think for an Original to ask for a witch to help them, it has to be more than that. There must be a bigger picture there. So you talked about the supposed baby. And?”

Caroline shrugged. She definitely didn’t want to talk about their _almost_ phone sex. “Um, it was more the _way_ we talked than what we talked about. Other than when I asked about the baby and he sort got pissed off. I mean he was livid. But then… after that things were just pleasant. I don’t know how to explain it.”

“Sounds like you had a normal conversation with him without any pretense.”

“Yeah,” Caroline replied and blushed. “It wasn’t so I could ask for some sort of favor either. It was just _nice_.”

Caroline thought back at one of the most intense conversations they ever had. It was back when Silas was, as Damon liked to describe it, ‘mindfucking’ everybody. Caroline had admonished Klaus that day as she tried to explain what it meant to be friends. _What is wrong with you?! I am reaching out to you, despite everything that you’ve done and you still can’t get out of your own way!_ And then later, when she told him she should have turned her back on him, she saw the hurt in his eyes.

If she were to compare last night’s call to that moment in his mansion, Caroline believed he did take her words to heart and that meant a lot to her. Not only did he give up his need to seek revenge on Katherine Pierce after five centuries of their cat and mouse game, he did it for her. The idea warmed her heart. Was he really capable of making changes in his life because of her influence? He did, after all, come out and save not just her but the whole Mystic Falls gang during graduation.

“You’re day dreaming again,” Bonnie joked, once again pulling Caroline away from her thoughts.

“Sorry,” Caroline replied sheepishly. “I was just thinking about the way we talked and it was a bit of an eye opener.”

“Hey, are you going to talk to him before our trip?”

“I hadn’t planned on it,” Caroline said. “Why?”

“As I told Aria, I just don’t want them to know right away that I’m helping her,” Bonnie explained.

“I didn’t even mention going to Atlanta,” Caroline replied. “Not that I knew that was the reason why we were going. What did you tell Jeremy?”

“I told him we were having a girls weekend. He was cool about it. If we have time, I do want to pick up some college catalogs for him though.”

“He wants to move to Georgia?”

I think it’s more like he wants to get out of Mystic Falls,” Bonnie clarified before getting up and grabbing one of her text books. “Have you studied for our quiz?”

Caroline shook her head. “Not really,” she laughed even harder when Bonnie looked at her in shock. “Stop, don’t look at me like I just turned into a unicorn or something, I was busy this whole weekend!”

  
  


**~New Orleans~**

“Nik, surely you don’t expect your baby to live here once she’s born, do you?” Rebekah asked innocently, as all three siblings gathered for breakfast. She reached and grabbed a scone and some fruit before she settled back in her seat.

“Bekah, where the girl lives is none of my affair,” Klaus replied and narrowed his eyes at his sister. “She can go back to the bayou for all I care.” He went back to cutting his piece of ham and appeared to ignore his sister’s antics.

Rebekah glared back and was about to say something when Elijah started to shake his newspaper to show his annoyance with his siblings. To prove a point, he brought the paper up and blocked them from his view. Rebekah looked over at Klaus and tried not to laugh before giving him a mischievous wink.

“But Nik, we’re not talking about the girl, we’re talking about your own flesh and blood—your child!” Rebekah pleaded and probably would have wobbled her lip a bit if Elijah had been watching.

Klaus shook his head and fought his laughter for a brief second before he let out a low growl. “Watch yourself, little sister. You’re being insolent again.”

“Will you two _stop_ your incessant bickering?!” Elijah exclaimed as he slammed the paper down on the table, causing the dishes to shake. “Perhaps Rebekah has a point. With you two arguing and snapping at each other, I am certain this is not an enriching environment for the child.” He glared at his younger siblings, shaking his head in disappointment. “Maybe you should look into providing Hayley with a proper home.”

“Surely I’m not hearing correctly, brother,” Klaus mocked. “You’re permitting the wolf and her cub to live away from us?”

Elijah rolled his eyes and finished the rest of his coffee before getting up. He grabbed a breakfast type tray and started to plate some food without saying another word to his siblings. Before he walked away from their dining room, he turned. “I’m disappointed in both of you. Your behavior is absolutely atrocious.” He walked out the room and it sounded as though he was headed to Hayley’s living quarters.

Once he was certain they were away from their older brother’s hearing, Klaus scoffed and propped his feet up on Elijah’s chair. “I think that went well,” he whispered.

Rebekah nodded and finished off her scone. “I think if we continue this, the rest of the week, it will make a good excuse when we leave for the long weekend.”

“It would be nice to get away,” Klaus admitted.

“Our manservant of a brother is clearly not himself and it is becoming more and more disturbing,” Rebekah muttered with disgust. She looked over at Klaus and motioned towards the front door. “Let the nanny take care of it.”

Klaus nearly choked on his tea over his sister’s words and quickly flashed out the door. A moment later, Rebekah followed and together they walked towards his car.

“Do what you want, Rebekah, I don’t care. If you want to do this so-called ‘baby proofing’ of the house, so be it, but don’t expect me to be a part of it,” Klaus said through clenched teeth. They were walking right under Hayley’s rooms and Klaus wanted to be just loud enough for his brother to hear.

“Whatever, Nik,” Rebekah replied irritably. “Just take me shopping like you promised.”

Once they were in the car and out the driveway, they were free to drop their façade and actually started howling out in laughter.

“I can’t believe you referred to him as a nanny,” Klaus said as he drove around. “Anywhere in particular?”

“No, I am going to do my shopping when we’re in Atlanta. It’s not like the Avenue des Champs-Élysèes, but it will do in a pinch. I just wanted to get out of the house,” Rebekah admitted. “Let’s just go somewhere quiet.”

“Surely our dear brother will wonder when we return and you don’t have any shopping bags,” Klaus remarked as he took the interstate and headed towards Baton Rouge.

“Fine, we’ll find some mediocre toy store and I’ll buy a baby toy. That ought to placate Elijah.”

“I’ll be happy when we can stop with the charade. It’s one thing to harass Marcel, it’s different when it’s become obvious our brother is no longer himself,” Klaus said. It was probably the closest thing to admitting he missed Elijah. Sure, they had their differences over the centuries and his older brother brother had seen the inside of a coffin often because they didn’t always see eye to eye, but this was not the same. It was almost as though his older brother was an entirely different person now and he didn’t like this new version one bit. Elijah always touted himself to be the voice of reason or sometimes, his conscience—the moral compass. Now, he seemed too caught up with the wolf-girl’s plight and have almost distanced himself, at least emotionally, from his siblings.

Rebekah, understanding the meaning behind his words, simply nodded. “I hope we get answers this weekend.”

“I supposed after our performance over breakfast, we’ll have to make it look as though we’re looking for a proper home for the girl?”

“Perhaps not,” Rebekah said as she stared out the window. There was a momentary silence before Rebekah turned to look at her brother with an evil gleam in her eye. “Maybe there’s a way we can infuriate him enough so he won’t question our absence.”

“You have an idea?” Klaus asked as he left the interstate and drove around some of the more remote areas of Louisiana.

“I can’t let you in, but it will happen in the next day or so. Just play along, Nik,” she replied.

Klaus noticed the pleading looking on his sister’s eyes before she quickly masked it with indifference. He wasn’t sure what her plan was to raise the ire of their older brother, but he was game.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you like it? I know, it's a slight filler chapter but I needed it to set the stage up before both groups left for Atlanta.   
> As always, I love to hearing your thoughts on this. Let me know.   
> Until next time, XO~ sushi


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here’s the next chapter! Hope you enjoy :). Thank you hannahperry85 and cecevolume for their work on making this chapter look nice. 
> 
> As a reminder, this is alternate universe so some of the names I’ll use in this story are similar to names in The Originals but that’s as far as it goes.
> 
> I don’t own the characters, they belong to their respective shows.

“My brother Nik will be home any moment,” Rebekah announced, motioning for the two humans into the house. The slightly tipsy girls giggled and followed her into the sitting room. The blonde vampire grabbed a nearby remote and once music started to flow through the room, excused herself heading to the kitchen. She grabbed a bottle of wine from the wine chiller and sent a quick text message to her brother before rifling through the refrigerator for snacks, grateful their human housekeeper had stocked up earlier that day.

 

Klaus arrived ten minutes later, ready to reprimand his sister for interrupting his feed. He stormed into the house and stopped momentarily when he heard pop music and the distinct sound of heartbeats. He slowly walked into the sitting room and saw two females, dressed in something Rebekah once described as ‘club wear’, dancing with each other. Rebekah was nowhere to be found, but she was obviously home when he spotted her favorite bottle of Bordeaux sitting on the table.

 

“There you are!” Rebekah exclaimed happily when she came in from the kitchen. “Nik, this is Genevieve and Tracy, they’re part of a dance team over at Tulane,” Rebekah said, first pointing to the redhead and then the blonde, before giving them a reproving look as they looked like they were ready to maul him. “Girls, this is my brother Nik and, like I said, he’s a stage director in London. Give my brother a chance to settle down before you audition for him. In the meantime, there’s more wine and a cheese platter.”

 

“Rebekah, what is the meaning of this?” Klaus asked in a hushed, vampire whisper, while fixing himself a tumbler of bourbon.

 

She walked over to stand next to him. “It’s supposed to be your peace offering for lashing out at you,” Rebekah replied, raising her eyebrow at Klaus.

 

He quickly deduced it was the ‘surprise’ she had talked about a few days ago. He noticed the mischievous gleam in his sister’s eye and nodded to show he agreed to be a part of her scheme.

 

She turned back and grabbed the remote, raising the volume a couple notches up. “Elijah isn’t home yet; he took _her_ to dinner but, since it’s near bedtime, they’ll be home shortly.”

 

Looking up quickly at the clock on the wall, he noted Rebekah was correct and Elijah would indeed be home shortly. Klaus downed the amber liquor and poured himself another helping before he took a seat facing the girls.

 

“So, I understand you are trying to audition for a part?” Klaus announced after taking a sip of his drink. He gave both girls a smirk, noting how their breathing and heart rates changed as they stared at him, their eyes beginning to smolder with desire. “How are you girls with dances from the 1920s? I’ll be directing an original play that’s similar to ‘Chicago’,” he explained with an extra air of arrogance. The girls hung onto his every word as they both nodded enthusiastically.

 

“Very well.” He smiled at the humans before turning his attention to his sister. “Rebekah, do you have anything that is more era appropriate for us?” Klaus asked, continuing to play his role as a stage director.

 

“Of course,” Rebekah replied and quickly changed the music to the more familiar big-band tunes. For a moment, Klaus was back in the speakeasies, drinking bootleg gin he helped finance.

 

“Whenever you’re ready girls,” Rebekah added sounding as though she was her brother’s trusty assistant. She sat down on the small, antique settee next to her brother as they both waited for them to start.

 

Both girls removed their shoes and undid their hair ties before they began to dance what looked like it should have been a Charleston. Klaus gave the girls a smile even though he thought they danced atrociously. He looked over at his sister and noticed she was no longer paying attention and was rubbing her temples with her eyes shut. For a moment, Klaus took his mind back to the night of Roaring Twenties dance at Mystic Falls High School and how he danced with Caroline. _You would have liked the 1920s, Caroline. Girls were reckless, sexy…_

 

“Stop this,” Klaus ordered, shaking his head in disapproval. He grabbed the remote to turn down Louis Armstrong. “I don’t know if this play is for you two. Tell me, what kind of music would you like to audition with?”

 

The blonde pointed to the iPod dock. “Can we take a look?”

 

Klaus winced at the grating sound of her voice. His initial impression of the girl when he first walked in was that she was easy on the eyes. Once he sat down and assessed her while she danced, he realized her hair lacked shine. Her blue eyes was missing a sparkle and, instead, he noticed a slight haze in her eyes that he often found with those who were living life too much on the edge. She was wearing too much make up as well. None of those should have mattered to him—they were mere observations and she was nothing more than a human blood bag. Still, his thoughts kept a running list of all things wrong with her.

 

“Yeah, help yourself,” Rebekah drawled and watched as the two girls began to search for songs for their ‘audition’.

 

Moments later, electronic dance music filled the room and the lights were dimmed slightly. The girls both discarded their tops and were wearing flimsy camisoles and short skirts as they ‘danced’. Klaus scrubbed his face with his hands in disgust. Whenever the girls turned to look at him, he quickly set his mask to appear interested in them grinding against each other like dogs in heat. He glared over at his sister and saw she had a similar look as his on her face.

 

He was about to say something when he heard a car pull up to the wrought iron gate surrounding their property and could tell, thanks to his werewolf senses, the purr of the engine was Elijah’s Mercedes sedan. He caught his sister’s attention and motioned with his eyes the front of the house. She gave an imperceptible nod, understanding the signal. _Showtime_ , he thought as he moved to take a hold of the redhead’s hand, pulling her towards him.

 

Genevieve took his signal that he was interested in something more as she straddled his lap and proceeded to give him a lap dance. He looked over to his sister once again and could see the other girl, Tracy, was on her lap but Rebekah was compelling her to be quiet and enjoy the rest of the evening.

 

Taking his sister’s cue, he looked at the girl’s green eyes. “You will cease your dancing and remain still. The only sounds coming from your mouth will be sounds of pleasure.” Genevieve repeated the words slowly and stopped grinding on Klaus.

 

Klaus knew it wouldn’t take any effort to bed the girl and feast on her blood. Over the ages, he never was lonely for a willing female, only resorting to compulsion to keep them from making too much noise. It would have been easy to do the same to Genevieve—especially seeing at how aroused she was becoming. He could, if he wanted to, merely shut his eyes and imagine he was back at the Ambassador Hotel during the 1930s seducing a young, Margarita Cansino, before she became the famous Hollywood starlet, Rita Hayworth.

 

He was lost in thought when the redhead ran her fingers down his shoulders, causing him to hiss when they brushed over the spot where Caroline had sunk her fangs into his flesh. While the marks were gone physically, he often felt her ghostly supple lips and the way her hand cradled the back of his head as he drank from her and she, from him. _This was wrong_ , he thought as he took a hold of the girls arms.

 

“Keep them locked behind you,” he compelled before his eyes turned golden and his fangs dropped. He bit down and began to drink the girl’s life force away.

 

“What in heaven’s name is going on here?!” Elijah shouted a minute later. Behind him, clinging onto the back of his suit jacket was the wolf girl—her eyes wide with shock.

 

“Sod off, Elijah,” Rebekah said once she unlatched herself from the blonde’s neck. She pushed her off so she slumped on the floor, passed out from the lack of blood. “Nik and I are merely enjoying ourselves.”

 

“She’s right, brother,” Klaus replied as he pushed the redhead off his lap and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “It was a peace offering on her part and I surely couldn’t say no.” He gave his brother and Hayley a menacing grin, knowing his teeth were still stained with blood.

 

“You two ought to be ashamed of yourselves,” Elijah admonished, staring at Klaus. “Is this how you behave with the mother of your child living here, Niklaus?”

 

“That’s right, dear Elijah,” Klaus mocked as he reached out and straightened his brother’s jacket lapels. “ _My_ child—remember that as you continue to play house with her.” Saying that the child was his sounded completely wrong in his mind, but he _had_ to use that knowledge to his advantage. To further aggravate his brother, he gave Hayley a sinister glare, causing her to shudder and huddle even closer to Elijah.

 

Meanwhile, Rebekah was cleaning the wounds on both the unconscious females—giving them a drop of her blood each to close up the bite marks. Since both girls weren’t drained of blood, there was no need for them to ingest any. Besides, they weren’t worthy of becoming vampires and Rebekah knew better than to be _that_ careless.

 

“You forget, brother, this is our house too,” Rebekah replied as she stood up and walked over towards Elijah. She narrowed her eyes and scowled at the elder Mikaelson. “Just because you’re too busy playing nursemaid doesn’t mean we have to forget who _we_ are.”

 

“Enough!” Elijah shouted, pointing towards the door. “Get your harlots out of the house within the hour—the sooner, the better. You know we cannot have this kind of behavior once the child is born.”

 

“Oh, for fuck’s sake Elijah,” Rebekah shouted as she stood up to her brother. “We’re your family or have you forgotten that? Always and forever?” Elijah stood silently as Rebekah continued glaring at him.

 

“Come on, little sister,” Klaus said as he tugged his sister’s jacket, causing her to end her stare down. “Perhaps it is best if we left the house too. Let’s give the _lovebirds_ their time together to build their little nest.”

 

“Good idea, Nik. Let me get the girls out of the house and I’ll pack a bag.”

 

She moved towards the two girls now that they were awake. “You two,” she said in a commanding voice. The girls both snapped to attention and stared at Rebekah. “You will get dressed and leave, forgetting everything that happened tonight. All you remember was you two had been drinking.” Knowing Elijah was no longer keeping a close eye on her she grinned and continued with her compulsion. “Go back to campus and throw a party. Have fun dancing in front of the entire student body.”

 

The girls repeated the compulsion before putting their shirts back on. Just as they were about to leave, Rebekah grabbed some of Elijah’s favorite liquor bottles and shoved them into a paper bag. Klaus had to bite the inside of his mouth to keep from laughing knowing how his brother enjoyed his bottle of Laphroaig.

 

Before Rebekah could add to her compulsion, Klaus got up and looked at the girls. “Enjoy yourselves tonight, ladies. Share them amongst your friends.” He opened the front door, motioning for them to leave. As soon as they did, he flashed upstairs and put some clothes into an overnight bag. Once packed, he grabbed a duffel bag and filled it with some painting supplies, in case he was inspired at night. Downstairs he could hear Elijah admonishing his sister and how she was being ungrateful for not listening to him.

 

Less than thirty minutes later, Klaus and Rebekah pulled away from their driveway and headed towards the Interstate exit.

 

“Not a minute too soon,” Rebekah said and shook her head.

 

“Their so-called dancing will bring me nightmares for the next century or two,” Klaus muttered. “Why did you have them throw a party once they got back on campus?”

 

Rebekah started to laugh. “The blonde’s father is a pastor at her hometown and the redhead’s mum is the university president’s secretary. I just wanted the girls to have a little fun, let loose, and maybe get themselves into trouble,” she explained and then added a slight pout. “I was merely doing them a favor.”

 

Klaus chucked at his sister’s good spirits. As much as they constantly bickered over the millennia, the moments when they got along meant the most to him even though he had never admitted it. “Are you still in the mood to cause a little trouble?”

 

“What do you have in mind?” She sat up on her seat, clearly interested in what her brother was planning.

 

“Since we’re going out of town again, let’s have some fun at Marcel’s expense—not a lot, just enough where he would want us out of his hair for a few days.”

 

The younger sibling smiled, as a mischievous gleam appeared in her eyes. “Well, the nightwalkers are out and about, let’s head to the city. We can always take the plane to Atlanta, it’s not like Elijah will need it.”

 

Klaus chucked and turned the car towards the French Quarter. “As much as I’m tempted, we’re not there to massacre his entire lot; remember that, little sister.”

 

“Is that a reminder for you or for me?” she teased causing them both to laugh.

 

“Touché,” Klaus remarked.

 

“I was hoping our antics would shock him back to reality,” Rebekah said, changing the subject as they neared the Quarter once more. She thought about the camaraderie between them. It brought back memories of the 1920s in Chicago until Mikael found them and she was eventually daggered. As much as she was impatient to get to the bottom of all the puzzles in New Orleans, she was enjoying the time she was spending with her brother. Even the fact that he _obviously_ fancied a blonde cheerleader from Mystic Falls didn’t seem to bother her as it once did.

 

To be honest, since their recent return from Mystic Falls, she _liked_ that her brother was willing to let her help him. It felt good to feel useful and now they were meeting a witch who might be able to help them or, at the very least, bring clarity.

 

“I doubt what we did would have broken whatever magic has befallen him,” Klaus replied, breaking his sister out of her thoughts.

 

“You don’t suppose they _are_ having some sordid affair, do you?”

 

“I haven’t a clue, Bekah,” he murmured, using his childhood name for his sister. “If they are planning it, I hope whatever has befallen our brother _is_ a curse of sorts and can be undone. As much as I don’t want to admit it, he was probably better off with Katerina Petrova. At least he wasn’t acting like some simpleton around her.”

 

“I’ve thought the same thing about Katerina, as much as I despised the girl. I hope we find answers, Nik,” Rebekah confessed. “Not just with Elijah, but all of it.”

 

Klaus nodded in agreement. “As do I.”

 

**~Whitmore College~**

 

_The week had been hectic for both Bonnie and Caroline with what seemed like endless quizzes and exams in addition to the essays they were assigned. They both also decided to turn in Thursday’s homework early so they could skip their classes, just in case they wanted to leave early in the morning._

 

_Aria sent them a text message Monday night with her address and Caroline did an internet search of the place. It was a fancy hotel with condos above it, known for being one of the tallest buildings in the city. It was in a pricey part of town and as much as the idea of staying near two shopping malls appealed to her, Caroline decided they didn’t need to splurge a ton of money for a hotel room. For Bonnie, money didn’t matter, as long as she was able to check out some of the area colleges for Jeremy, she was fine._

 

_Finding a place to stay wasn’t as easy as it seemed. It was such a large city and they really weren’t sure if they could afford staying remotely close to where the witch was. Caroline looked at several travel sites, looking for the best deals cross referencing them on a map. Luckily, by Tuesday night, they had found something—a last minute deal for the weekend at a price they couldn’t say no to. Plus, it was very close to where Aria was staying. Bonnie booked it and Caroline breathed a sigh of relief once the reservation went through._

 

_In between their studying, classes, and planning their trip, they also managed to move Elena’s bed over so now Bonnie’s was closer to Caroline’s. Most of Elena’s clothes were carefully folded and stored under the beds so they now had more closet space. Both of them cried as they moved her belongings—the realization that Elena wasn’t coming back soon hit them hard._

 

_They hadn’t heard from their friend since she left and were trying hard not to worry. They reminded themselves that she was a vampire and was unlikely to get herself into trouble if she was careful. It helped because the last thing they needed to do was panic and then run back to Mystic Falls. They imagined telling Jeremy and the whole gang knowing the chaos that would follow. They left numerous messages on her voicemail and only began to worry when her phone number was disconnected. Bonnie was ready to make the call around midnight on Tuesday when Elena sent them both a message from an unknown number._

 

_Sorry, phone died. I’ll Skype tomorrow 8 your time. XO E_

_PS- It’s me - we went to school on picture day wearing the same dresses back in 3rd grade. :P_

 

_The fact that she gave them a childhood memory lightened their moods instantly. Bonnie quickly answered the text with Caroline watching over her shoulder._

 

_Okay, Skype into Caroline’s account - we’ll both be on. XOXO_

 

_Having heard from Elena gave them a good burst of energy to tackle Wednesday. By the time they both returned from their long day of classes, they were more than ready for their vacation to start._

 

“We can leave tonight, can’t we?” Caroline groaned as she flopped down on the bed.

 

“We could,” Bonnie replied. She sat on her own bed, rubbing her temples. “But we’d have to find a place to stay for the night.”

 

Caroline considered the idea momentarily but then decided they probably didn’t need to be stuck in some creepy motel along the highway. Even though she was a vampire, it was still the principle of the matter and she didn’t want to go looking for trouble. “Ugh, I can’t wait until I’m an older vampire and don’t require as much sleep,” she mumbled as she punched her pillow.

 

“When does that start to happen?”

 

“Stefan told me once it won’t be for a few decades. It varies but he said it was a good approximation.”

 

“Speaking of Stefan, has he contacted you or even Damon?”

 

Caroline flipped over so she was on her stomach. “Nope, not yet. You?”

 

Bonnie shook her head and got up. “No, thank god.” She went into the bathroom. She rifled through the medicine cabinet, returning a minute later with some aspirin in her hand. “We could finish packing for our trip.”

 

“Good idea! And then we can Skype with Elena after we grab our food,” Caroline replied, her mood lightening up at the prospect of talking to their friend in a few hours. She checked her phone for the weather forecast this weekend in Atlanta and decided to bring an extra bag of clothes in anticipation of the cooler temperatures and made sure Bonnie did the same.

 

A couple hours later, they both took a break and headed to the student center for dinner.

 

“I have some playlists made for the drive,” Caroline announced while waiting for her fries to cool.

 

“Hey now, I have some playlists of my own,” Bonnie teased as she cut her burger in half.

 

“Fine,” Caroline replied with mock annoyance. “Driver rules then?”

 

“Yep, driver gets to choose the music,” Bonnie said nodding her head. “Hey the dessert stand just brought out some fresh stuff, you want anything?”

 

“You know what we should do? You go grab a couple of their warm, fudgey brownies and I’ll go get some ice cream and stuff so we can have sundaes in the room.”

 

Ten minutes later, they were back in their dorm room and started to build their ice cream, brownie sundaes.

 

“Oh god, we needed this,” Caroline moaned and shut her eyes as she licked the spoon.

 

“Yeah, this week was rough,” Bonnie said and propped her feet on the third chair of their dinette set.

  
“This was a great idea, Care.” She held her spoon out and clinked it with Caroline’s.

 

“Our trip will do us some good,” Caroline quipped. “Aria helping the Originals—do you think it’s really a bad situation?”

 

“I think so,” Bonnie replied. “They don’t usually ask for witches to help them unless they are facing some sort of danger or threat. I mean, they _are_ the Original vampires so it’s got to be bad.”

 

“I guess the good thing is you’re helping them, right?”

 

“I think that’s relative,” Bonnie remarked. “It depends on what the alternative would be. That’s one of the reasons why witches tend to side against vampires, generally speaking, of course. You remember how I was…um, a little judgmental.”

 

Caroline nodded. “Yeah, I remember. I thought you were going to hate me when I turned.”

 

“That was the way I was brought up to believe. I didn’t realize it until I died. Expression was bad, Care—in some ways, I was just as bad as vampires because it didn’t matter who I killed or who was sacrificed. I don’t want to go through a similar situation again. If I need to walk away from whatever I’m getting into, I’ll do it and not look back.”

 

“I understand. You were always put in a position to be used in some way. Believe me, I know,” Caroline admitted with a roll of her eyes. “That’s why I immediately jumped to the conclusion that you were going to use me as bait.”

 

“Thanks, Care and I’m sorry if I made you believe I was using you.”

 

Before they could say more, Caroline’s laptop chimed indicating an incoming Skype. They moved around their table set so they were able to chat together.

 

“Hey guys!” Elena greeted as soon as they got the camera up.

 

“We miss you!” Bonnie and Caroline said at the same time and then started laughing at themselves.

 

“I miss you both too. Sorry, the charger died and I was in the middle of nowhere. It took a while before I got to a store that sold a replacement one. By then, I just decided to change my number, too.”

 

“Well, where are you?” Caroline asked.

 

“Remember that town Rebekah and I went to when I had my humanity off?” Elena began. “The one where I pretended to be Katherine, but Elijah caught on?”

 

“Oh yeah, I remember hearing about that,” Bonnie replied.

 

“Well, I went back there because I had her memories of a bank account. It felt weird, but I managed to access it so now I’ve got some money that’s untraceable since I’m not using family money.”

 

“That’s smart,” Caroline remarked. “Are you doing okay? Getting enough blood and all?”

 

Elena nodded. “Yep, I am, don’t worry, _mom_!” she teased.

 

“I hated when you called me that during junior high school,” Caroline huffed. She tried to look angry at Elena but was in such a good mood, she couldn’t. “So where are you headed off to next?”

 

“I’m probably going to head towards California, maybe tomorrow sometime. I’m not sure—I’ll play things by ear. What about you guys, going back home this weekend?”

 

Bonnie explained they were headed off to Atlanta. She didn’t elaborate about helping the Rebekah. She didn’t want, on an off chance, Elena to think she was obligated to come back and help in some fashion.

 

“Sounds good! I’m glad you’re not going to stay in some dive place either,” Elena replied. “So maybe we’ll catch up middle of next week?”

 

“That sounds great!” Caroline replied.

 

“Oh Elena,” Bonnie began, I forgot to tell you this when we were in Mystic Falls. It was hard to catch you away from Jeremy and I didn’t want to intrude. Then after you told me you were leaving I was too upset. I found something out... from Grams.”

 

“I hope it’s good news,” Elena said. “If you’re going to say this is going to cause me to die, I may not be as forgiving,” she added jokingly.

 

Bonnie stuck her tongue out at the laptop screen. “No, it’s not bad. We sort of figured it out, but now we have some consensus,” she replied. Bonnie then proceeded to tell Elena there was no danger with her new found knowledge and conscience.

 

“So as long as I don’t go ballistic like before and just enjoy life, this should all be okay…” Elena repeated, nodding her head. “I like that. Thanks for letting me know. Is it wrong that I used her money, though? Be honest.”

 

“Who knows how she got her money in the first place,” Caroline began. “I don’t have a problem with you using her money to help discover yourself. Besides, it’s not like you’re going to spend it all on booze, right?”

 

“No,” Elena replied and laughed. “Since I sort of made my peace with her, maybe I could, in a sense, help redeem her while helping me grow at the same time.”

 

Bonnie and Caroline looked at each other and then nodded at the laptop. “I think that’s a good attitude to take,” Bonnie replied.

 

“Okay well, I’m going to go out and grab some dessert. Whatever you’re eating looks delicious. Maybe I’ll be on the road the same time you are!” Elena quipped.

 

They said their goodnights and set plans to Skype again next week with promises of recaps of their trip.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed it. Let me know what you think :). 
> 
> Next stop will be Atlanta. For those who celebrate, have a wonderful Easter. I’ll be watching Captain America, after a nice run. XO~ sushi


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well hello there. It has been a while and I apologize. Even though this chapter had been written for a while, it had been difficult to get the motivation to post. I’ve finally had to stop watching TO and TVD since the storylines started to really bug me. 
> 
> Anywhoo, this is an unbetaed chapter but it has been read and reread a few times by the wonderful hannahperry85. I own all the mistakes but the characters belong to their respective shows. 
> 
> Enjoy

Klaus and Rebekah had arrived in Atlanta a couple hours ago, after causing some trouble in a bar at the French Quarter.

 

_They had decided to visit one of the seedier taverns—one frequented by some of the lower echelon nightwalkers, most of them likely having been recently turned or fell out of favor with Marcel. The bar, as they predicted, was crowded with both vampires and humans alike. Looking around, they quickly found a young vampire who was already showing signs he was drunk. He practically drooled over Rebekah as soon as she walked into his view and he became their perfect victim. She flirted with him, getting him to buy her drinks until he became bold and handsy and either too drunk or stupid to realize she was an Original vampire._

 

_That was when Klaus stepped in—becoming the overprotective, big brother and threatened him for disrespecting his sister. They had guessed early on he would be a belligerent drunk and they were correct. A fight ensued, causing many patrons to scatter out of the bar. The vampires who stayed had their necks snapped. As they made their way out of the bar, Marcel appeared with one of his inner circle minions looking livid and ready to kill. He quickly ordered his men to round up the humans and compel them before addressing the troublemakers. When he realized it was his hybrid sire and his former lover who had caused all the trouble, he highly suggested that they not be seen around the Quarter for a while—if ever, if he had his way._

 

_They put up a small fuss for show before they left and quickly headed to the airport. The siblings boarded their plane to Atlanta and landed shortly before dawn. After checking into the Mandarin Oriental and dropping off their bags, they headed towards a developing neighborhood outside of downtown in search of Kol’s place._

 

Klaus and Rebekah stared at the worn building that once housed a factory built after the Civil War; 1866, to be exact, according to the cornerstone. The brick still showed evidence it was painted with signage for a tooling company many decades ago. “Are you sure this is the right place, Nik?” she asked while looking at the metal door.

 

“You gave me the address and this is it,” Klaus replied as they walked around to find an entrance, which was located around the corner. He easily broke the locks and took a breath before stepping over the threshold. “We’ll soon find out,” he muttered and walked inside when he didn’t feel any resistance.

 

Once inside, they looked around the ground floor—almost afraid to touch anything given the thick layers of dust and grime. The filthy windows filtered the early morning sunlight through, causing the dust motes to sparkle as they floated around.

 

“What kind of tools do you suppose they made here?” Rebekah asked, not recognizing the random pieces of equipment on the dirty floor.

 

“Given the size of the building, they were most likely small parts that went into larger machines,” Klaus replied as he continued to examine the room. He was beginning to have his doubts about the building as he returned back towards the entrance where his sister was waiting.

 

Rebekah nodded and pointed toward some steel stairs, noting they looked freshly painted. The siblings walked up to the next level and found a roll-up type doorway that they easily unlocked with their strength.

 

Inside was a large space with a long wall of windows overlooking the Atlanta skyline. The room was clean—a huge difference from the ground floor and _almost_ habitable, relatively speaking. It was completely barren—except for what looked like an industrial, metal table that was probably original to the factory building—making it seem even larger. Up above, the high ceilings, they noticed what appeared to be new pipes and vents exposed. They turned to look at the kitchen area, noting it looked like it was going through some remodeling—cabinets were still in boxes and the only thing that seemed to work was the stainless steel refrigerator.

 

“Well, at least the electricity works,” Klaus said as he opened the fridge, noting there were blood bags stored in one of the drawers. He grabbed one and looked at the label, shaking his head as he realized it was long past the freshness date. “We’ll have to find a place to dispose of them.”

 

“I could see how Kol would have wanted to live here,” Rebekah remarked as she walked around, the sounds of her high heels on the cement floor echoed around them.

 

Klaus nodded, saddened over the fact that he was here but his brother wasn’t any longer. While he probably wouldn’t have said it out loud to him, he liked the place his younger brother had chosen. The neighborhood was sprawling with new bars and restaurants. While they hadn’t visited the area at night, he imagined finding a meal wouldn’t be difficult. And for Kol, he wouldn’t have had a problem being his usual, charming and arrogant self.

 

“Do you think this is a good place for us to meet with the witches?” he asked as Rebekah continued to survey the room.

 

“I think so. We’ll have to get some chairs or something though. Let’s go see what is in the other rooms,” Rebekah suggested, stopping when she noticed a door hidden in a recessed area by the kitchen. “Should we look?”

 

“Why not?” Klaus replied and grabbed the door, expecting it to also be locked. It opened with ease exposing another flight of stairs and another door leading to the rooftop.

 

“The view is beautiful,” Rebekah remarked as they took in the view of the skyline. “I could definitely see him living here. I could see you with a place like this too.”

 

Klaus nodded as he walked to the edge of the rooftop. There was a metal safety rail around the perimeter and he noted it was probably installed recently. His sister was right in her assessment. He could not just see Kol living here, enjoying the bachelor life but he could see himself living in a building like this—his artwork adorning the brick walls, being near the heart of the city but still having the piece and quiet he desired. “We aren’t going to sell this,” he said. “This isn’t going to be a place for _her_ and the child either.”

 

Rebekah nodded in silent agreement and relief. They headed back to the main floor to explore the rest of the floor—the old brick exposed walls in the living quarters were cleaned fairly recently, any evidence of grime on the mortar was gone. When they found the bathroom, they were both surprised it was so luxurious.

 

“I never took Kol to be a bathtub person,” Rebekah joked, surprised her brother had decent taste for his bachelor pad.

 

“You forget, little sister, Kol’s ulterior motive. Remember, he wanted this to be a place he could bring females. He had to make sure he had the proper accoutrements for seduction,” Klaus replied, matter of factly.

 

“Ugh,” Rebekah groaned in disgust. “I didn’t need to visualize that. What’s in the next room?” she asked, eager to change the subject.

 

Klaus led the way, through a second doorway as they walked into a darkened room. He moved over to the far end in order to draw the drapes open.

 

“Is that–” Rebekah began as they both stared at a huge, round bed in what _had_ to be Kol’s room.

 

“I believe it is,” Klaus replied before he started to laugh uproariously. He couldn’t help it— it was something his brother definitely would have chosen.

 

Rebekah covered her eyes with her hands as if it could stop the vision from entering her brain. “Oh god, that is absolutely tasteless!”

 

“Are you saying we shouldn’t ship it to Elijah and have it giftwrapped as a housewarming present?”

 

Rebekah gave him a stern look. “Niklaus, what is the meaning of this tasteless piece of furniture? Is this your idea of joke?” she said, mimicking her older brother’s speech pattern.

 

They left the room in smiles as they inspected the next room, which appeared to be another ensuite but they couldn’t tell because it was full of furniture and decor items. They spotted some chairs and left them in the hallway to take to the main room.

 

“There’s a half dozen so we should have more than plenty,” Klaus said as they arranged some around the table and the rest around the room. “It doesn’t look as spartan anymore.” He turned to look at his sister. “If you’d like, go ahead and send Aria the message of where to meet. In the meantime, I’ll call a locksmith to fix what we broke.”

 

Rebekah nodded and pulled her phone out of her purse. “What time, Nik?”

 

Klaus turned to look at the skyline as he quickly mulled it over. “How about, as a show of good faith, we ask her what time is best but suggest that we meet tonight instead of tomorrow. We want happy, amenable, witches not ones that would want to turn on us in a heartbeat.”

 

Rebekah agreed and sent a text message to Aria.

 

 

**~Somewhere in South Carolina~**

 

Bonnie and Caroline were at a gas station as they got ready to switch drivers. _They had gotten up earlier than planned, both excited about their trip. Since they couldn’t fall back asleep, they decided to get an early start to their road trip. After leaving Bonnie’s car at a garage in Mystic Falls for new tires, they were on their way. Caroline didn’t mind being the first driver and promptly pulled one of her playlists up._

 

_When they crossed the North Carolina border, Bonnie laughed when her friend handed her the phone so she could take a picture of the “Welcome to North Carolina” sign. She did the same when they crossed into South Carolina too._

 

“Hey Care, there’s a burger place in here, do you want breakfast other than coffee?” Bonnie called out from the gas station convenience store.

 

“Whatever you’re having is fine,” she replied as she waited for her car to finish fueling up. In a few hours from now, she was going to be in Atlanta and Caroline was absolutely giddy having never left her home state before. Once she was fueled, she headed to the passenger seat, reclined the seat and started to check her messages. She rolled her eyes as she saw a couple messages from Tyler he sent earlier this morning.

 

_sO WHEN ARE YOU gonnA CALL ME?_

 

_Your wiTH someone, aren’t you? I should have ducking know._

 

_You’ll be back and than it will be YOUR turn to crawl and beg for forgiveness._

 

“Seriously?!” she grumbled furiously as she erased her messages. “Stop being such a dick and quit drunk texting me!” She had half the mind to text him back and give her a piece of her mind. _No,_ _next week_ , she thought. She had to talk to him and really tell him it was over. She wasn’t looking forward to the conversation but if she didn’t, it was just giving him more of an excuse to bother her.

 

Her mood changed for the better when she saw Bonnie approaching the car, carrying a bag of food and a couple juices. “I have breakfast sandwiches, some OJ and granola bars,” she announced, getting into the driver’s side.

 

“Thanks, that sounds good, I’ll probably snooze for a bit after but you have to promise me you’ll wake me up when we cross the state line,” Caroline replied.

 

“Sure thing. Sorry it took a while I got a call from Aria while I was in there. She said Rebekah contacted her with an address and asked what time we’d like to meet tonight.”

 

“She’s giving you a choice?” Caroline exclaimed with her mouth full of sandwich. “That’s weird, isn’t it?”

 

Bonnie nodded. She followed the road and got them back on the interstate in minutes. “I told her we would probably arrive around noon but would like to rest a bit. I suggested six or seven.”

 

“Yeah that sounds okay,” Caroline said and put away her trash. She debated whether or not to bring up the topic of Tyler and his crazy text messages but figured there was time. Besides, she needed to rest a bit so she had a clear head. Deciding that she could talk to Bonnie sometime this weekend, she shut her eyes and promptly dozed off.

 

The sun’s rays woke her up from her slumber. Caroline thought she had merely shut her eyes but the clock on the dash showed she had been sleeping for nearly an hour.

 

“Oh good, you’re up,” Bonnie said cheerfully and pointed out the windshield. “Look!”

 

Caroline looked up at the sign and saw that the Georgia state line was only a few miles away.

 

“Perfect timing!” Caroline quipped and began to straighten her hair, undoing her seatbelt to reach into her toiletry bag on the back seat for her brush. She finished up just before Bonnie pulled over to the right lane and slowed down for Caroline to take a picture. Once the window was down, she took the picture, not the least bit concerned the wind messed her hair up once again.

 

“Care, I hope you’re not going to just take pictures of road signs,” Bonnie teased as she began to picked up speed.

 

“Ha ha ha,” Caroline replied sarcastically. “Okay, Miss Smartass, just drive.” She gave Bonnie a mock glare and turned stared out the passenger window wondering if talking to Bonnie right now about Tyler was going to ruin their vacation.

 

“What’s got you nervous, Care?” Bonnie asked a moment later. “And don’t try to deny it, either. I can see you’re biting your lip as you stare out the window. What’s going on?”

 

Caroline began fidgeting with the buttons on her blouse still staring out the window. “Tyler sent me some text messages while I was driving. I didn’t get a chance to look at my phone until the gas station and saw them.”

 

“I take it they were bad?” Bonnie asked and reached over to give her a gentle squeeze as a show of support.

 

“He basically said I was ignoring him again and I was probably with someone,” Caroline began, her voice rising in agitation. “And then, he said he expects _ME_ to come back to him. NO, he said he _expects_ me to come _crawling_ back to him!”

 

Bonnie’s jaw dropped. “Seriously?” she asked and took a quick look at Caroline who was nodding emphatically. “Care, you really need to talk to him. Like soon.”

 

“I know,” Caroline replied. “I think he might have been drinking when he sent them—not that it’s an excuse for being an arrogant jackass, but still…” She looked over at Bonnie, making sure she could read her friend’s face before she continued. “...do you think I’m rebounding?”

 

“Is that what you think?” Bonnie asked. She frowned at the thought and tried not to look over at Caroline since traffic ahead was slowing down due to the early morning traffic.

 

“I don’t think I am,” Caroline replied, her brows furrowed as she thought about her and Tyler. She didn’t think what she did with Klaus was considered a rebound but she honestly wasn’t sure.

 

“Do you picture Tyler in your future?” Bonnie asked. “Think about it and be honest with yourself.”

 

Caroline shut her eyes and leaned back against her passenger seat. “I did, at one time but things changed,” Caroline admitted, not just to Bonnie but to herself as well. “When he broke the sire bond and started to get other hybrids to do the same, he was different, colder and maybe more centered on destroying Klaus. At one point, he was willing to sacrifice himself to be used so Klaus’ body could jump into his.” Caroline couldn’t help but shudder, since that night Tyler lost his hybrid friends and his mom.

 

“Yeah, I remember the way he tried to be an alpha to the ones that were sacrificed,” Bonnie said recalling the news about how they were killed along with Tyler’s mom. She also remembered the ‘Girl’s Night’ they had with Elena at the Salvatores and their run-in with a group of hybrids. The brunette turned and quickly gave her a sympathetic smile.

 

“I guess I held onto wanting to be with him—convinced that he was my ‘epic love’. The problem was, I don’t think he saw me the same way. If he did, he wouldn’t have run off on his own. Sure, there were a couple times when it seemed legitimate, but the rest?” Caroline shook her head and let out a sad sigh. It was hard enough for the blonde to have those thoughts in her head, and even harder to say them out loud—even to one of her oldest friends. “I could have gone with him, you know? But he never asked—he always insisted on going away on his own. How many messages did I leave him only to have him send me a quick note or voice mail?” Her voice began to rise again, upset as she remembered how hurt and humiliated she often felt because he didn’t act like she was important enough. “And then this _one_ time, when I demanded that he make a choice—me or his revenge, he didn’t choose me… But now that he’s back, he expects me to come back to him and we go back to our merry way.” She covered her face with her hands as she continued to shake her head. “If I was on the rebound, I think it should have happened a long time ago,” she muttered through her hands.

 

“Or with someone with less baggage,” Bonnie replied. “I personally think if you were on the rebound, one of those hottie college guys would have done the trick, Care.”

 

“What are you talking about?” Caroline asked, setting her hands on her lap. “What hotties?”

 

Bonnie chuckled and shook her head. “The TA in our English class, the guy who makes paninis, there are a ton of them around campus and they’ve noticed you.”

 

Caroline looked at Bonnie as though she had just grown a second head. “Really? I never knew that.”

 

“Okay so maybe not a ton, but there are a few guys who have noticed you. So, can you picture yourself with one of them?”

 

Caroline leaned back against the passenger seat and shut her eyes as she imagined going out with any one of the guys Bonnie mentioned. Other than maybe meeting up at the library to work on assignments or going for a coffee, she really couldn’t. The very idea of _dating_ one of them made her shudder as she imagined them getting handsy with her. She didn’t want any of them—not that they weren’t good looking because she had to admit, after Bonnie mentioned them, they were. She just wasn’t interested. The idea just didn’t sit right with her.

 

Traffic was picking up so Caroline was glad Bonnie was preoccupied with driving. She continued to sit and think about who she was now versus who she was when she was human. She knew the human Caroline would have probably flirted with all those guys—maybe even dated them at the same time for the attention. Maybe vampire Caroline _could_ have done the same thing but she didn’t believe she _would_ have. Caroline wondered, if Katherine Pierce hadn’t waltzed into Mystic Falls and changed her life forever, she was certain her life today would have been pretty much the same as her human one. An errant thought entered her head— _if she was still human, would Klaus have noticed her?_

 

_Oh great, another thing to ponder about, Caroline,_ she mused before coming back to reality. She wondered how long did she zone out there and if Bonnie noticed. Thankfully, the morning traffic was bad and being it was a new thing—since traffic was never an issue in Mystic Falls, Bonnie was too busy concentrating on the cars around her.

 

“I couldn’t see myself being with them unless it’s purely platonic,” Caroline finally admitted. “And I think I like Klaus more than I should. But he’s bad, and I shouldn’t, right? What… what am I going to do about that?”

 

“Hang on,” Bonnie said as she changed lanes. “Care, I’m probably the last person you’d expect to say it, but if he likes you back, _is_ it really bad? Besides, he is different around you, isn’t he?” She paused to look over at the passenger seat and saw Caroline nodding. “I sort of thought so. Just remember something, if you do like him, like him for who is now; don’t try to change him into something you’d want him to be. If a person changes, it should be because they want to, not because they are expected to by their other half.”

 

_He’s the baddest of the bad, Caroline_ , she thought to herself. He _was_ different when he was with her. Not always, but he seemed to show a side, if she was willing to bet, he rarely allowed others to see. _But why her?_ Caroline knew this was going to be another topic she was going to have to mull over for a while. If she were to one day be Klaus’ last love—or him hers, she had to accept him for who he was. _Could she do that? What if she lost who she was?_ Although she was stronger and more confident now than when she was human Caroline, she still believed she was basically the same person.

 

She turned and looked at Bonnie once more. “I get your point, I really do. I just don’t know… if it’s Klaus, you know he’s not an angel.” She proceeded to repeat her concerns and fears to Bonnie who said nothing, allowing her to get her rambling thoughts out.

 

“You know I’m not a fan of his,” Bonnie stated once Caroline was done talking. “I may never be chummy with him, but I’ll be a friend to you. I don’t know what his intentions are. All I can say is if you become uncomfortable with who you are or what you’re becoming, then it might be time for you to reevaluate your life. If you’re serious about being with him, you two need to have a good, long talk. It may not be a pretty discussion but if that’s your intent, it will be something you need to do.”

 

“Have you been watching Dr. Phil or something?” Caroline joked, giving Bonnie a playful shove on the shoulder.

 

“Yeah, something like that,” Bonnie replied. “Hey look! We’re almost there!” She pointed to a sign showing they were getting closer to Atlanta. “I think we might be there in less than an hour.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you are interested, Google “Old Milk Factory” and there is an article of a converted building in Atlanta. That was my inspiration for this place. I had to change the type of factory because the smell of milk is gross to me though. 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed the chapter. I hope you find it somewhat realistic with Caroline waffling over the idea of being with Klaus or not—the whole “should I” or “shouldn’t I” idea because to be frank, he’s a bit intimidating having had a thousand years of experience. Plus, I figured she had been heavily influenced by her human life and her friends for so long that it will take some time for her to even accept the idea that she likes him and wants to be with him wholeheartedly. Though she’s slowly coming around. ;) Other than that, it’s a bit of a filler chapter as far as action goes. Aria shows up in the next chapter and there is a sort of reunion too. 
> 
> Love to hear your thoughts. I hope I don’t stray away too long next time. 
> 
> XO ~ sushi


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, hello out there! :) Yep, here’s another chapter for you. 
> 
> Thank you for the lovely reviews and stuff—I know I was absent for a while. 
> 
> This is another unbetaed chapter. I hope I caught most of the errors. Thank you to hannahperry85 for her awesome prereading skills. She helped catch a lot of the mistakes too. 
> 
> That being said, I own the errors and the original character. The rest belong to their respective TV shows (and books).

Bonnie and Caroline were in Atlanta a couple hours later—early morning accidents slowed traffic to a crawl, but it gave them a chance to get glimpses of a bustling city—much bigger and crowded than Mystic Falls. Eventually, they made it to the Embassy Suites they were staying. After checking in, they got to their shared room and took turns freshening up.

 

While Bonnie was showering, Caroline was putting away her clothes, stopping every so often to peer out the windows. The room was several stories up, giving her a nice view of the surrounding area. For Caroline, this was her first time in a big city; even though technically, they were only in one small part of Atlanta. It was exciting enough to distract her from putting her things away and she couldn’t wait to explore.

 

“What do you want to do?” Bonnie asked when she came out of the bathroom, a damp towel was still wrapped around her head.

 

“Mall? We can people watch and do some shopping,” Caroline suggested as she stepped away from the windows. “Maybe you could send a message to Aria and see if we could meet before tonight?”

 

“You’re going to come with me tonight?” Bonnie asked in shock.

 

“Bonnie, you’re going to catch flies if you don’t close your mouth,” Caroline teased before moving closer to Bonnie. “I decided when I took the first leg driving. I realized I should be a good friend and be there for you. Besides, I don’t want to stay at the hotel on my own while you’re somewhere in Atlanta.”

 

“Thanks, Care,” Bonnie replied, giving her a hug. “Let me finish getting ready and we’ll head to the mall. I can text her on the way to see what her plans are. I won’t be long,” she said as she hurried back to the bathroom.

 

When they were ready to leave, they decided to walk after spending all those hours cooped up in a car. Bonnie sent Aria a text message when they were in the elevator and received a response before they left the hotel.

 

_I’m on the way to the mall! :) Stop on by - you have the address?_

 

Bonnie showed Caroline the message and silently asked if she wanted to deviate from their plans.

 

“Sure, why not,” Caroline quipped as they began walking along the busy road. She could hear Bonnie texting away for about a block before she slid her phone back in her purse. It didn’t take them long to get to Aria’s building even though the street was busy with lunch time crowd. As they waited to cross the street, Caroline looked up at the tall skyscraper and was amazed. While it wasn’t a city like New York or Chicago, it was still exciting for the young vampire.

 

They finally reached the tall skyscraper and entered the Mandarin Oriental hotel. “She’ll meet us at the lobby,” Bonnie explained.

 

Caroline looked around as they walked towards a sitting area admiring the black and white marbled floors and the high ceilings with crystal chandeliers—it was very fancy and she was almost afraid to touch anything. She spotted Aria right away, thanks to Bonnie’s description of her uncanny resemblance to a Disney princess.

 

“Bonnie and Caroline?” Aria asked as she stood up from one of the leather chairs and walked towards them. When she was near, she held her hand out to Caroline, introducing herself before shaking Bonnie’s. “I’m so happy you made it! How was the drive?”

 

“It was alright, when did you get here?” Bonnie asked as she walked next to Aria with Caroline on her other side.

 

Whether it was intentional or not, Caroline was grateful she wasn’t walking right next to Aria. It wasn’t that she disliked her, she just didn’t know her yet and given what she knew of witches and vampires, she wasn’t going to be _too_ trusting right away. She still remained friendly towards Aria and hoped she would be able to rid herself of the paranoia soon.

 

Aria led them to another lobby, explaining this was the residential area. She signed them in as her guests before taking them up to the private elevator. “Caroline, I apologize on my oversight. I completely forgot that I wouldn’t be able to personally invite you into my father’s house since I’m not the rightful owner,” she said, giving her a small smile. “I’m going to show you one of the empty condos, we’ll have some privacy there and you can see the view.”

 

“Are we allowed to?” Bonnie asked.

 

“Technically no,” Aria replied and laughed. “My father’s firm designed this building and he was the chief architect. What security doesn’t know, won’t hurt them.”

 

When they arrived at the topmost floor, Aria escorted them to the condo that was still under construction.

 

“It won’t be completely done until someone buys it and decides on some custom configurations and the decor,” she explained. “I wanted to show the view here. I’m a couple floors down.”

 

The three of them took their time looking out the nearly 360 degree view. Aria pointed out some landmarks including the general area where they were going later that night.

 

“Is your dad here?” Caroline asked after Aria pointed out the mall they were going to. She rested her hands on the thick glass and peered down at the cars and people moving about.

 

“No, my father’s on assignment in Saudi Arabia with my brother, Sebastien. Their firm is busy in Riyadh so they built an office and he decided to transfer there for a few years.”

 

She looked back up and smiled before moving towards what looked like a window bench. There was a tarp covering the wood and Caroline wondered if that was there from the workers or from Aria. “Bonnie said his side of the family has a history going back to Ancient Egypt?”

 

Aria nodded and sat down on the opposite end of the bench. “My dad’s family kept a history because they were so proud of their status in the royal court. The papyrus scrolls were later translated into a bound book. There have been several replacement books made over the centuries but the story has passed down for all that time.”  
  
“Wow, that’s really cool,” Caroline admitted. “My dad’s family were part of the group that founded my—” she looked over at Bonnie — “our home town, Mystic Falls. He’s… he died. My mom still lives there, she’s the town sheriff. We’re about an hour away at Whitmore.”

 

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Aria said and gave her a small, comforting smile. “My maman used to live here in Atlanta. I think that’s why my father bought the place for her. She’s a doctor and started working at the CDC. She took up private practice, met my father, had my brother, me, and then decided to pursue her dream of working for the World Health Organization. She never had the witch gene but grand-mère always said she had the passion of a healer and she took it to heart. She travels to different countries to help the sick or wounded and will return sometime next month from her latest mission.”

 

“That’s a very admirable thing to do,” Bonnie replied as she sat down between them. “Sorry, I got so lost in the scenery I zoned out. I meant to ask, Aria, is your mother’s side French?”

 

Aria’s cheeks flushed slightly over her olive skin as she laughed. “Sometimes I don’t realize I use French terms, she insisted my brother and I learned. Plus she said it helped distinguish the differences between her side and our father’s side. Maman does have family of French origin, _de Chantraine_. They were known healers in their village in the 15th century but then somewhere along the way, they began to practice witchcraft. There was a young girl by the name of Anne who was accused of being a witch and was burned after her trial in the early 17th century. Soon after, a few of my ancestors eventually left Europe and modified their name to _‘Deschamps’_ in hopes they weren’t going to be associated with witches.” She smiled once again and shook her head. “So, enough about me, I have a feeling I will be interrogated by Rebekah tonight and will have to repeat the story. Have you met her? What is she like?”

 

Caroline had to think for a moment. She really couldn’t tell the witch she often thought of the Original as a nemesis—other than when she slapped her to stun her out of her Silas compulsion. She _could_ , however see how Rebekah wanted to fit in, perhaps sometimes trying a little too hard to make friends. She looked back up to Aria and took a breath. “We weren’t friends and I don’t know a lot about her, to be honest,” Caroline began. “I do know that honesty would probably go far with her. If you have plans to hurt her or her family, they can be a force to be reckoned with.”

 

Aria nodded. “I figured as much,” she replied. “I have no plans to turn against her or her family, I promise. I should let you two go hang out at the mall, you probably want to decompress a bit. I need to rest up for tonight in case my magic is required. Do you want to ride together or go separately?”

 

“Since it’s our first time in this city, we will meet you there just in case we decide to wander off on our own before or even after,” Bonnie said. “I brought a few grimoires along, should I bring them?”

 

Aria looked out the window for a brief second before nodding. “That’s a good idea. Let me walk you back to the elevator.”

 

Bonnie and Caroline were quiet as they walked through the lobby and back onto the main road. It wasn’t until they were waiting to cross into the mall that Caroline said something. “She seems nice but there is… I can’t explain it, I could tell she wasn’t like typical humans when I met her,” she muttered close to Bonnie’s ear.

 

“I never noticed that,” Bonnie replied back with a whisper. “Is it a witch and vampire thing?”

 

Caroline shook her head and pointed to Bonnie they were ready to cross. “I don’t know,” Caroline tried to explain, her lips pursed as she tried to figure out why Aria just seemed different. “I can’t explain it, it isn’t like a witch thing from my experience, like hanging out with you, I don’t know, maybe I’m just tired and imagining things.” She waved her hand in a dismissive manner. “Come on, we’ve got some shopping to do.”

 

Bonnie and Caroline spent a few hours at the mall. They were able to try on clothes from shops they had only been able to order from online. Before they headed back to the hotel to get ready for the meeting, they ordered a couple lattes and found a table in the food court that was great for people watching.

 

Caroline was about to point out a cute outfit for Bonnie when she noticed her friend staring at a couple walking with their arms around each other affectionately. Caroline was about to nudge her friend, seeing how preoccupied she looked, but noticed the crinkle on the bridge of her nose; something was bothering Bonnie.

 

“Hey Bon,” she began and gently placed her hand on Bonnie’s shoulder.

 

The touch startled Bonnie and she let out a little gasp, sitting straight up so suddenly that she looked like she jumped. “Oh my god, I spaced out, didn’t I?” she said as she clutched her shirt slightly.

 

“Are you okay? I didn’t want to scare you.”

 

“No, I’m fine,” she replied and gave Caroline a reassuring squeeze of her hand. “I was just thinking of some of the things we talked about today.”

 

“Do you want to talk about it?” Caroline asked as she continued to look at her friend with concern.

 

“You know the stuff we talked about today and you joked that I watched Dr. Phil?” Bonnie began and gave a small chuckle that didn’t reach her eyes. “The thing is, I sort have been having some doubts myself about a few things.”

 

“What few things?” Caroline asked thinking to their conversation about her and Tyler earlier today and then just now with the cute couple walking around. “Is this about you and Jeremy?” Bonnie didn’t reply but her gaze averted to their table.

 

“It is,” Bonnie said after a moment and then looked back at her drink, her shoulders slightly slumped.

 

“Wait,” Caroline said, her eyes narrowing as she looked at her friend. “I thought things were okay with you two.”

 

“Things just aren’t the same they were before the whole Hunter’s thing, Silas… everything.”

 

“But Bonnie,” Caroline replied and moved closer towards her friend as she dropped to a whisper. “You helped bring him back. Don’t tell me, you have second thoughts.”

 

“It isn’t that! I know I did a good thing in bringing him back. That’s not the problem. I just don’t know exactly how I feel. It isn’t that I don’t love him, I do,” Bonnie clarified. “I just don’t know if it’s _enough_ to get us far.” She sat back on her chair and looked up at the ceiling. “You know how I said he just wanted out of Mystic Falls and I promised him that I’d look at college campuses?” Caroline nodded, prompting her to continue. “Well, it’s true he wants to leave, but I don’t think he necessarily wants to go to school. To be honest, I don’t know _what_ he wants to do.”

 

“He hasn’t talked to you or anything about after graduating?”

 

Bonnie shook her head. “He says he would go to school but hasn’t done anything like applied for schools or even taken the SATs. I know it’s been hard, I mean, he died,” she whisper shouted and looked up to make sure no one heard. “But because Damon and Elena broke up, he doesn’t have that guardian figure anymore—not that I could _see_ Damon being a guardian figure. And now that Elena’s gone, dropped out to find herself, I have a funny feeling he might do the same. He’s just all over the map with what he wants to do.”

 

Caroline saw the tears glazing in Bonnie’s eyes and pulled her into a hug. “I’m sorry Bonnie, I didn’t realize. Have you tried talking to him about your concerns?”

 

“I tried. Believe me, I have tried to talk to him,” Bonnie replied. “The weekend Elena announced she was leaving, he started in on me.” She looked over at Caroline who had her mouth open in shock, giving her the ‘why didn’t you tell me?’ look. “One minute we were watching a movie and the next he accused me of always flaunting college life in front of him—not having Friday classes, dorms… things like that. I told him, he could have it too, once he graduated. He just glared at me and got pissy. _‘Fine, go and get me some college catalogues if you want.’_ It wasn’t what he said, it was the way he said it—he seemed dismissive about it. I don’t know, it was just weird.”

 

“Maybe he’s got boy PMS or something,” Caroline said in attempts to bring some levity. “I think Tyler has it for sure.”

 

Bonnie leaned against Caroline’s shoulder and smiled. “Thanks for that. I don’t know what will happen but I’m glad I talked to you about it.”

 

“Do you feel better?”

 

“A little,” Bonnie admitted. “I don’t have any answers but I feel better talking about it.”

 

“Well, come on, let’s get back to the hotel and get ready for our evening. Since we’re new in town, I want enough time so we don’t get lost.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Klaus and Rebekah left for Kol’s place a couple hours before the witches were to make their appearance. In order to give the impression that they were genuine in asking for help, they stopped at a grocery store and bought beverages along with some plastic cups. The trip was interesting with both men and women staring at Rebekah as she strutted up and down random aisles in her stiletto boots. She ignored them, of course. Klaus was enjoying the trip as well; whether they knew it or not, the humans seemed to steer away from him. Of course the occasional glares he gave didn’t hurt either.

 

“I’m glad we don’t have to shop for food ourselves,” Rebekah announced once they got into their rental car.

 

“You seemed to enjoy the attention, little sister,” Klaus quipped as he pulled out of the parking lot. “That wasn’t so bad, it could have been much worse. Be grateful you don’t have to do the shopping at home.”

 

Rebekah shuddered and made a face. “No thank you,” she replied cheekily. “I don’t want to buy pregnant lady foods or or worse, baby things.”

 

Klaus nodded as he drove towards the factory. It was also a rarity for him to shop for food but he wasn’t going to complain like his sister. He thought it was amusingly ironic—his sister, who yearned to be human, complaining about doing a simple, _human_ task. He wasn’t going to complain however, the fact that they were getting along now and needed to show a united front later with the witches was crucial.

 

Once they arrived, they both made sure the living area was tidy. They didn’t care about the lower floor with the machines and Klaus even thought it might intimidate the witches a little if they saw what looked to be an abandoned building. They set the beverages in the refrigerator before sitting down to wait for their arrival. Both of them lost in their own thoughts.

 

About an hour prior to the scheduled meeting time, they heard a car pull up, followed by the sound of two doors closing. Klaus and Rebekah looked at each other, clearly confused as to why someone was on this seemingly vacant lot at this hour. They hadn’t expected anybody to show up early.

 

The door downstairs opened and Rebekah motioned for Klaus to hide in one of the corridor—taking his suggestion that he remain a surprise to heart. He nodded and shut the lights in the hallway as he hovered near the door of the bathroom giving him a clear view of the living area but still hidden from view.

 

The roll up door opened and while he couldn’t see who walked in, he heard his sister gasp.

 

“Bloody hell! You?” she yelled.

 

“Hello Rebekah,” the voice answered and Klaus let a sharp intake of breath when he recognized the voice.

 

_Bonnie Bennett?!_ Klaus was now concerned. If the Bennett witch was involved, what did that mean for their situation? Was _she_ the mysterious person the witch, Aria mentioned to Rebekah? Surely this had to be a mistake. Or maybe it was another scheme cooked up by those damned witches.

 

He was lost in his visions of stringing up both sorceresses by their ankles and draining their blood onto the streets—their blood wasn’t palatable enough given their history. It wasn’t until he heard a softer set of footsteps enter the room that he paid attention once again. _Was this Aria and if so, how do we get her to confess her grand scheme?_ His ideas of torturing the witch came to a halt when he realized it wasn’t her. His werewolf senses caught the familiar scent of vanilla and lavender, momentarily knocking him breathless. The scent could only mean one person.

 

_Caroline,_ he breathed out and took a step forward, keeping his footfall silent. _What was she doing here? Was this another one of those ‘distract Klaus’ schemes again?_ With each step, he was finding it harder to remain calm and not go running into the room, ready to tear the Bennett witch’s head clean off. _Had it been a part of the plan? To sleep with her enemy and then find a way to destroy them?_ Not only was he growing angry, he was feeling disappointed and hurt—a potentially deadly and volatile combination.

 

“Klaus,” Caroline whispered as soon as she saw movement coming from the darkened area in the room and then seeing a familiar shadowy silhouette. She hadn’t expected to see him but the current staredown between Bonnie and Rebekah was going nowhere and she was too fascinated by the building to pay _too_ much attention. She could tell her cheeks were flushed as she continued to stare at him as he slowly approached them, his face showing no emotions—but his eyes...he was angry. She gave him a small smile and then looked around, noticing how Bonnie and Rebekah were no shooting invisible daggers at each other but were now looking intently at her and at Klaus—as though they were watching a tennis match. She looked down, not wanting to give Rebekah any ammunition that she was flirting with Klaus. Even with her head down, trying to pretend the concrete floor was very interesting, she kept looking up towards him, noting how handsome he looked tonight with a steel grey henley and dark jeans. She could admit that to herself now and she didn’t feel bad for thinking it.

 

Klaus continued to move towards the women, his eyes gauging every moment and breath they made to see if he could detect their deceit. The animosity between the witch and his sister was intense but seemingly under control. He looked over at Caroline, his mask of indifference firmly in place and noticed the smile she gave him. It was similar to the one he received that day in the forest—genuine and full of emotion, only smaller and perhaps less intimate. While this wasn’t as intense, he could tell it wasn’t the same smile she used to give him during one of those Salvatore schemes—there was always a glint in her eyes when she was forced in those situations and he was always quick to notice. It wasn’t there now. _Was she being genuine?_ He wanted to believe it was true, but past experiences held him back. His breath nearly caught when she looked down, a noticeable blush on her cheeks—a blush he now knew traveled down nearly to the tops of her breasts—not that he could tell at this very moment, she was bundled up for the late winter evening.

 

His pace slowed as he approached them and while he could see from the corner of his eye, the Bennett witch and Rebekah were no longer staring at each other, his attention was on the blonde in front of him. Each time she looked up with just her eyes, it solidified his earlier assessment—it wasn’t a blatant attempt to flirt as a diversionary tactic as she had done in the past. There was a warmth in her brief glimpses that he wanted and hoped was real.

 

“Caroline,” he said politely once he was next to the table. “I hope you’re not playing the role of being my distraction tonight.”

 

“No,” Caroline replied, looking up at him before addressing the others in the room. “I am here as an observer, nothing else. We just got here early because I didn’t want to get lost.”

 

“Oh that’s just great,” Rebekah remarked, throwing her hands in the air in exasperation. “Let me guess, the Salvatores are also in on this too? Maybe the doppelganger as well? Where are they? Hiding in your car?”

 

Bonnie held her hands up to show she didn’t mean any harm. “I’m here to help Aria, that is all. I know you probably won’t believe me, but I’m not here as a part of any scheme. I’m genuinely here to help and asked Caroline to come along as a friend.”

 

Rebekah let out a huff and turned around, walking towards the large windows overlooking the skyline. “You’re right, I don’t believe you,” she began and turned back around, stalking towards Bonnie. “This is bigger than anything that has ever happened in bloody Mystic Falls.”

 

“Stop!” Caroline cried out and looked over at Rebekah before walking over towards her. “I know you have reasons to doubt Bonnie but what she’s saying is true. We’re not here to cause trouble, we’re here to help… or Bonnie is and I’m here to support.”

 

Rebekah was silent as she stared at Bonnie, then Caroline and finally her brother. She didn’t know what to believe and never expected to see the Bennett witch appear here. _Didn’t they have a hand in killing their brother?_ She gave Nik a pleading look, wanting to defer to him for a decision and hoped he could see she was at a loss.

 

Thankfully, Klaus saw and quickly accessed the situation. “Very well, we’ll wait to hear from the other witch. Mind you, if I get any wind that this is a plot of any sort, you will be the first head I rip off,” he said, his jaw clenched as he glared at the witch. He gave Caroline a look as well, not as harsh but one that he was certain would cause her to change her mind if she was a part of any scheme against him or his family.

 

“Knock, knock,” a voice called out from just outside the roll-up door. She stepped inside and smiled at the group. “It’s Aria, I’m a little early but was wondering if we could get started.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anne de Chantraine was accused of being a witch in the early 1600s and was burned at the age of 17 (per Wikipedia).
> 
> There you go, a Klaroline moment :). I’m hoping my extended holiday weekend will break me out of my writing funk so I can continue writing the story. Send me a PM if you are interested in being a second (or third) pair of eyes for the story. 
> 
> Until next time!  
> XO ~ sushi


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Peeks in) Hello there! I know it’s been a long ass time and I apologize for the delay. I’ll explain more at the bottom but here’s the next chapter. 
> 
> Thank you HannahPerry85 for her awesome pre-reading skills. 
> 
> Thank you readers for your patience. 
> 
> I don’t own anything—except maybe Aria. 
> 
> Onward~

_When Aria arrived at the address Rebekah had given her, she took a deep breath and whispered a prayer to the gods of her ancient ancestors. She hoped they would provide her with the strength and knowledge to solve the mystery of New Orleans while keeping herself safe. She got out of the car and pulled her dark cloak around her, as protection from the cold, evening air. She found the entrance to the old building and quietly walked up the stairs, noticing a light at the large doorway. She could hear muffled voices and hoped her soft footsteps would not be detected so she could quietly observe the group for a few moments before she made her appearance. The gods were on her side as she huddled against the stairwell and peered into the open door. She knew she shouldn’t be eavesdropping, but she wanted to get an idea the type of vampire Rebekah Mikaelson was before the meeting actually started._

 

_She saw Bonnie staring at a blonde woman, and immediately guessed was she was Rebekah. She reminded her of the stories of the mythological valkyrie the way she stood tall, glaring at the brunette. What fascinated her, however were the two other people in the room. Aria looked at the man and Caroline as they closed in on each other—their fingers twitching ever so slightly as though they longed for each other’s touch. At least, that was what Aria believed she saw. There was a softness in the man’s eyes as he stared at the young, blonde vampire and she, while attempting to hide her gaze, returned the same look to him._

 

_The atmosphere changed as the blonde began accusing the two women about being part of a scheme and mentioned other people. Aria was quickly able to deduce that Bonnie had been part of a plan or plans to harm the Original vampires at some point and Rebekah was not pleased to see her, but couldn’t tell if Caroline had a role or not. Aria continued to watch the four people in the room—she now realized there was a trust issue that she must resolve soon—especially after the man began to verbally threaten Bonnie. Feeling it was now the right time to make an appearance. She pasted a smile on her face and moved to the doorway._

 

“Knock, knock,” she called out before stepping inside. She smiled even bigger as she glanced at each one who had stopped to face the entrance. “It’s Aria, I’m a little early but was wondering if we could get started.” She waited for some response and after a minute without one, she set her satchel on the floor and walked up to the tall blonde, before extending her hand. “You must be Rebekah? I’m pleased to meet you.”

 

Rebekah looked at the witch and then her hand before extending her’s out. “This is my brother Nik… Niklaus Mikaelson,” she said walking towards her brother.

 

Aria turned and looked at the man, letting out a gasp when she realized who he was. “You’re known as Klaus. You’re the hybrid.”

 

Klaus gave a curt nod of acknowledgement. He detected the slight increase in the witch’s heart, satisfied that the mere knowledge of his existence had frightened her. He watched as Aria looked at him and then at Rebekah before closing her eyes, giving them a small bow.

 

“It is an honor to meet both of you,” Aria said and looked up again at them. Aria was acting more brave than she really felt but tried not to let it show. She felt more determined than ever to help them, at the very least, find the answers they were looking for. “Should we get down to business and discuss what’s going on in New Orleans?”

 

Klaus was about to speak but Rebekah beat him to it. “How do we know we can trust you? Especially since you’ve partnered with the Bennett witch.”

 

“Look I didn’t want to bring this up earlier,” Bonnie began as she moved towards Aria. “There’s something you need to know about me.”

 

As soon as Caroline heard Bonnie, she knew Bonnie was about to reveal to the siblings something huge. She moved closer towards her friend as a sign of solidarity, knowing this was going to be difficult for Bonnie and reached out, giving her shoulder a friendly squeeze.

 

“When the veil was put back up the night of graduation, I died.” Bonnie looked over at the two Original siblings hoping they could see the truth in her eyes. “I no longer have magic. I’m only here because I struck a deal with Qetsiyah to become the Anchor to the Other Side. So basically, whenever a supernatural dies, their soul passes through me.”

 

“That doesn’t sound pleasant,” Klaus remarked as he glowered at Bonnie Bennett. He wasn’t completely convinced the former witch was entirely trustworthy at this moment but was willing to hear them out. Besides, with only one witch, it would take a lot out of her to disable a couple Original vampires with the brain aneurysm spell. He looked over at Rebekah and motioned for her to move towards the table. “Let’s all have a seat but before we start, Aria, why don’t you explain to me and my sister your skills. We’re both aware of what your colleague was able to do, _before_ , but we’re not familiar with you.”

 

Aria and Bonnie sat down with their backs facing the kitchen area while Klaus and Rebekah sat across from them. Caroline, who had been lingering in the background, grabbed a chair and set it on the corner right next to Bonnie. She wanted to see and learn everything, but at the same time, not get in the way since she was merely an observer.

 

Klaus noticed that Caroline was diagonally from him and while he would have enjoyed sitting right next to her, breathing in her scent, he knew now wasn’t the time, nor the place. He listened as Aria first talked about her mother’s side of the family and how they were related to a young witch burned during the 17th century. Then she described her father’s Egyptian ancestry and how they were related to a priestess that served under Ptolemy’s rule.

 

Meanwhile, Caroline, having heard the story just hours before, took the opportunity to remove her scarf and unbutton her blazer, setting it behind her chair. Her movements caught Klaus’ attention and she could almost feel his eyes burning into her skin even though she wasn’t looking at him. She felt momentarily short of breath and unconsciously ran her fingertips over the exact spot he had bitten her the afternoon in the woods. The motion was soothing and helped calm her nerves as she looked over at Aria and tried to look interested in her story.

 

Klaus continued to listen, but could see every movement _she_ made out the corner of his eye. It was clear she was nervous being there as she fidgeted with her jacket. He tried desperately not to react when he caught her touching her neck—the same area he bit after she practically pleaded him to bite her that afternoon. His body stiffened and he stopped breathing—not that he needed to—for a brief moment. _Did she realize what she was doing?_ It didn’t appear so, but he could see the action seemed to calm her nerves as her body visibly relaxed. At least, that was what he imagined as it often helped him.

 

Rebekah was engrossed in Aria’s ancestry and was hoping she wasn’t going to double-cross them in any way. Just like her brother, she didn’t trust Bonnie Bennett though the fact she no longer had use of magic was a bit of a relief. She was grateful Nik hadn’t done anything rash—something she had expected from him. She began to wonder if Caroline Forbes had anything to do with that. The looks they were giving each other was different than before. She couldn’t place her finger on it, but they _both_ acted differently. _What exactly happened that day when they visited Mystic Falls?_

 

“... and then I received a call from Rebekah asking if I’d be willing to help. I told her I needed some time before giving my answer,” Aria continued with her story. “I immediately thought I should talk to someone who might be able to offer me guidance. I remembered my grand-mère and her Grams were friends and learned many skills together so I contacted Bonnie. She verified what I had known—there was a new Anchor to the Other Side and she was it. I wanted her help because her role in the supernatural world could strengthen my own skills. We can go over that later—it’s usually easier to show you than to explain.” She waved her hands dismissively and looked relieved when neither sibling asked her to elaborate.

 

“How much do you know of this unbalance, as you call it?” Klaus asked. After Caroline purposely started to pay attention to Aria, in what he surmised was a weak attempt at avoiding eye contact with him, he pushed his chair away from the table and stretched his legs out, giving him the look of boredom but he was anything but bored.

 

“I have heard things about New Orleans and their witches,” Aria explained. “I knew they were different in that their magic is contained within their ancestors and therefore they’re stuck within their confines. I’ve also heard over the years, they weren’t able to use their magic—partly because they don’t have the ability to and also because they can be put to death. Then Rebekah contacted me about your older brother behaving strangely. She said while it didn’t seem like a spell, something about him was different.”

 

“Yes, something is different,” Rebekah began.

 

“Wait,” Aria said, interrupting the blonde’s thoughts. “Let me grab a few things out of my bag and then you can tell me everything.” She got up and hurried over to her bag, bringing it with her back to the chair.

 

She pulled a roll of paper out and set it on the table before reaching into her bag once more. She brought out a metal legged bowl with a tray underneath. Everybody watched her with fascination as she grabbed a small velvet bag, pulling what looked like a few rocks and placed them into the bowl. She lit the tray and a musky perfume began to scent the air.

 

“It’s just some frankincense, that’s all, it helps me channel the Egyptian side so I can record our conversation,” she explained as she began unrolling the paper. “I am going to scribe your story onto the papyrus scroll so please start from the beginning.”

 

Klaus sat up slightly and looked over at his sister, motioning with a slight tilt of his head towards the kitchen. Understanding his signal, she got up and returned with some bottled water just as he began talking about how he arrived in New Orleans months ago. “...I discovered my protégé, Marcel, was now calling himself King of New Orleans—a title he had usurped during my absence. He also had some means of controlling witches and it appeared they were no longer allowed to conduct magic.” He watched as the witch wrote down his words, impressed that it wasn’t in typical Latin or English, she appeared to be writing in a form of Hieroglyph. “I witnessed a confrontation with a witch—though he called it more of a ‘trial’ of sorts. The witch, Jane Anne, was accused of using magic and he promptly killed her on the streets, in front of his followers.”

 

Aria and Bonnie gasped at the news. Aria looked over at Bonnie as if to ask if she had felt it.

 

Bonnie understood the silent question and shook her head. “That was before graduation, right? I was still practicing Expression at the time so I wouldn’t have felt her pass as I would now.” She looked over at Klaus and cleared her throat. “Was it ever mentioned what specifically she did, other than use magic?”

 

Klaus shook his head and turned to stare out the window for a second. “No, it wasn’t revealed at the time but I found out soon after. The witch’s sister, Sophie, insisted that I meet her one night. That’s when it was revealed a werewolf was carrying my child. Jane Anne apparently was able to detect the pregnancy by use of magic. She was the one that also linked her sister’s life with the unborn child.” He let out a breath he was holding and avoided looking at Caroline at that very moment. Even though he had talked about the Hayley situation with her, the subject wasn’t something he was entirely proud of.

 

Caroline was watching Klaus as he talked about how this Sophie witch announced that Hayley was pregnant—the child being Klaus’ due to the so-called ‘nature’s loophole’. She could see he was looking almost everywhere but her direction. Given their telephone conversation a week ago and now seeing with her own eyes, she could tell just how much it bothered him.

 

Aria paused her writing and looked at Klaus. “There were never any tests or medical evidence?”

 

Klaus shook his head. “My brother, Elijah, pointed out the fact that he could hear a rapid heartbeat that didn’t belong to anybody visibly present. I was to take that news as fact and accept the consequences.”

 

Aria nodded. “I’ll let you continue and I’ll try to save my questions for the end from now on.”

 

Klaus nodded. “It’s alright, if you can help us get to the bottom of the situation, then by all means, ask away.” He continued his story of how he didn’t care for the prospect of an heir but Elijah persisted, citing family and honor. “It wasn’t long before his priorities became all about the girl and less about his existing family.”

 

Rebekah nodded and looked to her brother who gave her a small nod. “I hadn’t made it to New Orleans when Nik received the news. If truth be known, we were in a bit of a spat but Elijah persisted that I be there. _‘Always and forever’_ he would say when I gave my excuses—I just wasn’t ready. Finally, I did arrive but Elijah had gone missing.” She gave Nik a half-hearted glare and he returned the gesture with a shrug. “Without airing our family laundry, I eventually found him daggered. He was in a room with a girl named Davina. We had a bit of a confrontation and she… she basically spelled me to forget the location.”

 

“Davina? Do you know anything about this girl? Is she a witch?” Aria asked.

 

Rebekah shrugged. “Only what I could find in newspapers. There was a girl name Davina Claire that went missing during Hurricane Katrina. Weeks later they changed her status from missing to presumed dead. The picture of her from the article could be her from nearly a decade ago. She has to be somehow involved.”

 

Aria continued to write everything down, only pausing once to drop another piece of frankincense into the metal bowl. Once Rebekah had finished, she looked up at both Rebekah and Klaus. “Is there anything else unusual before I begin my questions?”

 

“Do you think they’re all related?” Rebekah asked.

 

“It’s too soon to say,” Aria admitted. “I don’t see a connection yet, but perhaps after my questions we can see. If not, we’ll look to other means to find answers,” she added and looked over at Klaus. “You mentioned Marcel who calls himself king. Who is he, exactly?”

 

“He was once someone we considered family.” Klaus recanted how he found the young slave—the illegitimate son of the governor. “He was being whipped and I rescued him. He didn’t have a name so I called him Marcellus—named after the Roman god of war. He was like a son to me and as such, I found it hard to swallow when he started having feelings for my little sister.”

 

Rebekah rolled her eyes but it finally made sense to her, why he didn’t want them to be together. “Despite my brother’s wishes, Marcel and I did have a bit of a fling in the early 1900s before Mikael found us and we escaped to Chicago.”

 

“Mikael?” Aria asked.

 

“Mikael Mikaelson, he was our father… or more specifically, he was the father of my brothers and sister. I was a product of our mother’s infidelity,” Klaus explained. “After we were turned to vampires, he became a hunter—his sole mission to destroy us all, but he took extra pleasure in the idea of destroying me, I suppose.”

 

“I see,” Aria said and scribbled some more Hieroglyphs onto the scroll. “So when you and your siblings escaped Mikael, Marcel stayed in New Orleans where he declared himself king of the city?”

 

“In a nutshell, yes,” Rebekah replied. “When we escaped, we thought Marcel had perished otherwise he would have gone with us, being he was family. Elijah had left us before Mikael, for reasons only known to him—my brother and I believe was to chase after his lover. Our other siblings were safely ensconced in their coffins, daggered. We had been running from him for centuries so it didn’t take long to pack everything we felt was essential and leave.”

 

This entire time, Caroline sat silently as she learned more of both Klaus and Rebekah. Even though they both remained stoic, she could see very brief glimpses of Klaus’ emotions coming through. It made him seem more human as he talked about Marcel as a young boy. She could see the fondness coming through in his words just as easily as she noticed his contempt as Marcel grew up, became a vampire and eventually turned. She tried to piece the stories together in her head, trying to find some sort of connection but so far, nothing seemed fit.

 

Just as Caroline was assessing the original siblings, Bonnie was as well. She wasn’t sure what to make of it and why Grams had advised her to help the Mikaelsons. None of it seemed to tie nicely together to form a connection, but she had a feeling once it was all vetted, any association, however remote would be found. At least, that was her hope. Her initial instinct was to blame this Marcel vampire, but she knew, from her experiences in Mystic Falls, nothing was ever as simple as they appeared.

 

“The daggering is nothing unusual?” Aria asked and both Klaus and Rebekah shook their heads. She nodded and decided not to press the issue—clearly it was a family situation that was none of her business. “Very well. Shall we go into more delicate matters regarding this child?”

 

“If we must,” Klaus muttered and moved his chair closer to the the table. He brought his hands up to the table and gave a menacing glare at both Aria and Bonnie, as if to remind them just how powerful he was, before he clapped his hands together. “Ask away,” he said. Although he appeared confident, he was internally dreading this interrogation and he had no doubt it _would_ be one. While he could easily walk away from the factory, right at this moment, there was that part of him that wanted to be vindicated—that this child was not his without question.

 

“I feel like I need to preface the questions beforehand. It’s imperative that we separate what is mythology and what is the truth,” Aria began and began writing on her scroll once more. “You’re a hybrid, that is to say, you’re not just a vampire but you’re a werewolf, correct?” Klaus nodded. “When exactly did you discover you were a werewolf? Did you phase while you were still human?”

 

“As you know, in order to trigger the werewolf gene, one must kill a human,” Klaus began, appearing blasé with the initial question. “While I was considered adept at using a sword and was a decent hunter, it wasn’t until I turned—having fed off a human, draining them of their life, that I triggered the gene. It led to the realization my mother had been unfaithful to Mikael and the father was a werewolf; not Mikael. As a means to control me, I was cursed—my werewolf side suppressed until I returned to Mystic Falls a couple years ago.”

 

Aria muttered something in an ancient language, slightly blushing as she took a breath. “I’m afraid I need to ask another, rather sensitive question.” Klaus motioned her to continue, already growing impatient. Aria tried not to be intimidated by Klaus’ actions and took another breath before continuing. “Prior to your… liaison with this werewolf, have you been intimate before? More specifically with other werewolves?”

 

Klaus scrubbed his face with his hands, clearly not expecting her question. He could see from the corner of his eye, Caroline was now looking either at the floor or her lap. Her face was flushed and he could see the slight tightening of her jaw as though she was bracing herself to hear sordid details. If it weren’t for the enormity of the situation, he probably would have been thrilled she was showing some sort of emotion that indicated she felt _something_ for him.

 

“Yes,” he replied, as he focused on the task at hand. “When I was seeking werewolves to turn into hybrids, there were a couple females that submitted themselves to me as they recognized me as their alpha.”

 

“And they didn’t conceive?” Aria continued her interrogation.

 

“They didn’t. They didn’t manage to survive long after they transitioned to being hybrids. About a month into their change, I forced them to change at will and they barely survived,” Klaus responded curtly. “A few weeks later, just before the next full moon, a member of their pack shared with me a secret they had kept to themselves. Generations of inbreeding had taken a toll on them and as a result, they avoided killing humans until they were mature and strong enough to withstand the monthly phasing.” Klaus shook his head as he remembered that remote pack. He had thought he struck gold the day he found them but they were nothing more than a cursed bunch and he had no choice but to destroy them all once he learned of their defect. “I would have known by then if one of them was with child.”

 

“So after you learned of the child that’s allegedly yours, was she taken to a physician or a clinic?”

 

Klaus shook his head. “Not unless you count those who are related to, or allied with witches.”

 

“The witch, Sophie is linked to the girl, like my brother said,” Rebekah added. “I don’t know if that’s the reason why they haven’t gone to an actual medical professional, instead of a so-called midwife who dabbles with the non-magical aspects of witchcraft.”

 

“Like herbs?” Bonnie asked.

 

Rebekah nodded. “And tisanes. Perhaps some small, seemingly meager spells that fall under the radar of whatever detection device Marcel has.”

 

“That’s a good segue,” Aria commented. “I think we’re done with questions regarding the child. What is this about a detection device?”

 

“I believe Davina is somehow connected based on what I mentioned earlier,” Rebekah said as she looked at Aria, hoping there was a way to validate her theory. “I’m convinced of it, though I don’t have any proof. When I was confounded to forget where she was, it didn’t feel like typical magic. I can’t explain it but it wasn’t something that Bonnie had done or any of the witches over the years.”

 

Aria nodded and finished writing on the scroll. “Anything else that you can think of?” Rebekah and Klaus shook their heads. “As I mentioned, we need to see if there’s a connection. I believe your brother’s not acting himself and could possibly be spelled. However, because the witches aren’t allowed to use that type of magic, there is something else that is causing it.”

 

She looked over at her scroll before turning her attention to Klaus. “Again, I apologize for my line of questions. I needed to know some facts before I was able to draw the conclusion that this child cannot possibly be yours. Whether or not the girl is actually pregnant, remains to be seen—unless she can somehow see a physician. The whole idea of a loophole is a farce, do you agree, Bonnie?”

 

Bonnie nodded. “I agree. If you were a werewolf first and a vampire second, the loophole makes more sense, but even then, it’s a long shot. Once you turned, your body is basically dead—cells shouldn’t be viable especially after a thousand years of leading a non-celibate life. Even if you had been celibate all these centuries, the chances are improbable. Though you can function like a human, it’s just not plausible and therefore it’s the work of magic.”

 

Klaus closed his eyes and thanked the ancient gods as he exhaled a breath he didn’t realize he had been holding. While he didn’t care for the girl or the child, the fact that a witch and a former witch have concluded he had no ties with the girl was a relief. “What’s next?” he inquired.

 

Aria pulled her phone out and checked the time. “We’ve been here for over three hours now. Can we resume in the morning? I definitely will contact the ancient gods for their assistance but I want to peruse grand-mére’s grimoires tonight and have some dinner.”

 

“I’ll help, I brought a few of my own,” Bonnie offered.

 

“Can I help?” Rebekah asked, dropping her usual standoffish pretenses. She felt a sense of optimism, believing somehow, all of them would be able to find answers and she was willing to help. More importantly, she was willing to set aside differences and work towards a common goal. “I have a couple of Esther’s grimoires at the hotel. Nik got us a place at the Mandarin Oriental if you don’t mind meeting there.”

 

Aria smiled and nodded. “I don’t mind, I have a condo at the Mandarin but since it’s my father’s, I wouldn’t be able to invite you in. Bonnie, are you okay if Rebekah joins us?”

 

Bonnie nodded, realizing they were going to have to work together at some point. In order to do so, they all had to learn to trust each other. “I’m okay,” she said and gave Rebekah a smile. “Care, are you going to join us?”

 

“Um—” Caroline began. As much as she wanted to help Bonnie out, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to spend the evening looking through books.

 

“Actually, I was wondering if she would accompany me for dinner,” Klaus said, having read the hesitation on Caroline’s face.

 

“I could join you, if you want,” Caroline said to Bonnie, ignoring Klaus for a moment. She didn’t want to seem _too_ eager and immediately agree to his offer. “I don’t think I’d be of any help though.” If her friend wanted her to be there for moral support, Caroline would do it.

 

“No,” Bonnie replied, shaking her head. “It’s okay, you go and we’ll touch base, yeah?”

 

Caroline nodded and pulled Bonnie over towards the windows. “You’re okay with this? I meant what I said, I could go with you.”

 

“I’m okay, Care. You go and have fun,” Bonnie said and gave Caroline a small hug. “You be careful,” she whispered to Caroline even though she knew both Rebekah and Klaus could hear.

 

“You too,” Caroline replied and reached into her purse to fish out her keys.

 

“We’ll take your car,” Klaus offered and tossed the keys to his rental car over to Rebekah. He gave her look, basically telling her to behave. If there was any chance to get to the bottom of the whole mess that was New Orleans, they had to put their differences aside. He knew he had to with Bonnie Bennett, eventually.

 

Rebekah nodded and motioned for Aria and Bonnie to follow her out the room.

 

Klaus walked towards Caroline as soon as they were alone. “Hello, Caroline,” he murmured. As much as he wanted to move closer to her, he stayed an arm’s length away.

 

“Hello, Klaus,” she whispered and gave him a smile—the same one she had given him after they kissed.

 

Feeling more confident, he reached over and grabbed her jacket, helping her put it on. Once he saw she was ready, he held out his arm and she quickly linked her’s with his. “So sweetheart, where would you like to go for dinner?”

 

“Seeing how we’re casually dressed, probably somewhere not too fancy. Is there a place here in Atlanta that you like going to?”

 

“I think I know of a place,” he said with a smile as he led them out of the room and down the stairs.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you all like that? Let me know your thoughts.
> 
> So I’m going through a HUGE writer’s block right now. I know how the story will end as well as some major points of the story and when they will take place. I just can’t get to the point where I can sit and write it down. It’s absolutely frustrating but the good thing is my creative side is still there—I’m just channelling it differently with home DIY projects and stuff. 
> 
> That being said, I do have a reserve of chapters—up to 17 but I don’t want to blow them all right away just in case this takes longer to shake than anticipated. 
> 
> Updates will be sporadic and slow but once I break out of this, you’ll be getting more regular chapters. I WILL finish this—it’s just a matter of when. 
> 
> I thank you all ahead of time for your support. I really appreciate it. 
> 
> XO ~sushi


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everybody! 
> 
> I don’t know if I’m back to writing regularly but I did write a little so I figured I’d post the next chapter for y’all. Thank you for all your patience as I try to fight through this stupid writer’s block. 
> 
> This chapter is unbetaed though the wonderful HannahPerry85 did go through it a few times during her pre-read. 
> 
> I don’t own the characters. 
> 
> See you at the bottom

When Klaus and Caroline arrived downstairs, they noticed Klaus’ rental was still there, the keys left inside on the driver’s seat. “Hmm, it seems Aria was able to convince both your friend and my sister to ride in the same car with her.”

 

“It looks that way,” Caroline replied. She looked at his car and then over to her own. “We can take your car if you want. It’s probably more comfortable than mine since you probably want to drive.”

 

Klaus nodded as he walked with her to the passenger side, his hand resting on the small of her back. He wouldn’t have minded taking her car, the mere fact that she agreed to have dinner was more than he hoped for. Once they were both in, he took off down the street.

 

Caroline was trying to figure out where he was going, but gave up after a while—the city was too big and she hadn’t gotten her bearings yet. Instead, she started to explore the car, opening the glove compartment and looking at the random buttons on the console.

 

“What are you looking for, sweetheart?” Klaus chuckled when she accidentally changed the radio, going from a soothing jazz station to heavy metal.

 

“Just looking,” Caroline replied as Klaus changed the channel back. “So where are we going?”

 

“I was thinking of an Italian restaurant that I know of.”

 

“I take it this isn’t a chain that offers endless breadsticks?”

 

Klaus looked over at her and shook his head. “I’m sorry love,” he said solemnly. “This place is fairly authentic. It’s off the beaten path and very exclusive.”

 

“Why, is it haunted or run by vampires?” Caroline blurted out.

 

Klaus shook his head. “No, it’s nothing like that. In order to get in, they usually take reservations months in advance. I am fortunate to be on a permanent guest list.” A moment later, he stopped the car. “Here we are.”

 

Caroline looked at the street, only lit by the street lights above. They were parked in front of an old brick building and there weren’t signs anywhere to show where they were. She opened the car door and Klaus held his hand out to help her out. She couldn’t help but think how a street like this with Klaus would have scared her to pieces a year ago.

 

They walked through a narrow opening, his hand once again on the small of her back as he helped guide her in the right direction. They arrived at what looked like a courtyard, with twinkle lights around a couple trees giving the space an intimate feel. They walked towards a door and Caroline could already smell the wonderful aromas from within.

 

As soon as they were inside, a hostess greeted them and Caroline noticed how she looked up and down at Klaus as though he was a piece of meat. She couldn’t help but feel put off by the buxom brunette and moved closer to Klaus.

 

Klaus paid no attention to the simpering girl as he waited for the maître d’ to arrive. He did notice how Caroline stiffened as the wait staff continued staring at him. He supposed she was trying to be alluring, but he was more interested at Caroline’s reaction than the overly flirtatious hostess.

 

“Mr. Mikaelson, it’s good to see you again,” an Italian accented man greeted Klaus with a firm handshake before motioning the two to follow him. He led them up a narrow flight of wooden stairs and into a small, dining area where they were the only ones seated.

 

Klaus pulled out a chair for Caroline before sitting across from her. “Mario, we’ll start out with my usual choice of wine.”

 

“Certainly sir, I’ll be back shortly. Is the music to your liking?”

 

Klaus nodded and watched as the waiter walked back downstairs.

 

“It’s all in Italian,” Caroline muttered as she closed the menu. She couldn’t help but pout a little; the long day and lack of food was starting to make her cranky.

 

“Do you trust me, love?” Caroline narrowed her eyes as she looked up at Klaus, not sure how to answer his question. Klaus quickly picked up on Caroline’s body language and pointed to the menu. “If you’d like, I can order for us.”

 

“Okay, but nothing gross like cow brains or something.” She gave him a glare to let him know she wasn’t joking.

 

“I promise, Caroline, there will be none of that on tonight’s menu.”

 

Mario returned with a bottle of red wine and a couple glasses. When he was done serving the wine, Klaus spoke to him in Italian with their order. Caroline watched as the waiter nodded and repeated the selections before running back downstairs.

 

“So what is this place? Why is it so hidden?”

 

Klaus leaned back against the chair as he swirled his wine glass. “This will help aerate the wine and open up its bouquet.” After taking a sip he looked over at Caroline who had copied his actions. “Decades prior to the Civil War, this was once the home to a brothel.”

 

“What?!” Caroline shrieked, her eyes dancing with laughter. “Really?” She looked around the private dining area and tried to imagine what it must have looked like and pictured red velvet everywhere—like Belle Watling’s place from _Gone with the Wind_.

 

“Ah yes, it was modeled after some of the higher end houses in Europe.” He looked around the room as though he could imagine what it looked like back then. “In it’s heyday, the business spanned nearly the entire block. The corridor that we entered from the street, that has been here since the buildings were constructed.”

 

“I had only read about those places, I never realized I’d ever be in one.” Caroline looked around the small dining room and wondered if this had once been used for more illicit gatherings.

 

Klaus raised an eyebrow at her. “They teach that in school?”

 

“No.” Caroline’s checks started to redden and she looked down at the table, almost embarrassed at what she was about to confess. “When we were younger, Elena used to sneak her mom’s romance novels for the three of us to read. Miranda particularly liked the historical ones. We used to giggle at terms like ‘veritable rake’.” She looked up at Klaus and smiled coyly. “I bet you were one.”

 

Klaus bit the inside of this cheek in an attempt to keep from laughing at her audaciousness. He liked this playful side of Caroline, especially when there didn’t seem to be a hidden motive behind it. “I believe Kol would have taken the title over me, though I wasn’t an angel either.” He gave her a wink causing her to laugh before continuing with his story. “Soon after the war, the business changed and parts of the building were converted to inns and whatnot. I didn’t discover this place until the later when I was still living in New Orleans. I had come out here to survey the area in case we had to leave our city because of Mikael. As I left the train station, I overheard a group of gentlemen talking about a very discreet restaurant—with dishes that rivaled Europe. I had my doubts, of course, but followed them here. Just like now, there was no sign indicating it was a restaurant. Even back then, the food was wonderful and while I disagree that it would rival the cuisine in Europe, it was close. I didn’t learn it’s colorful history until a few years later.”

 

Resting her head in per propped hand, Caroline was listening intently to Klaus’ story. _He definitely has a knack for storytelling_ , she mused. At that moment, it was easy for her to imagine he wasn’t Klaus, the big, bad hybrid. He was a man—a devilishly handsome one, she was having dinner with.

 

“The restaurant became a legend of its own over the decades. It was known for being unknown. It’s been said that diplomats have dined here and treaties were negotiated. Men were known to bring their mistresses here so they could dine in secret while having a meal fit for a king.”

 

“But wouldn’t they have more business if they advertised?”

 

“The owner is quite fond of the anonymity of the restaurant,” Klaus replied. “He’s able to take care of his staff quite well and enjoys the mere fact that the restaurant is a secret.”

 

An idea dawned on Caroline and she narrowed her eyes suspiciously at Klaus. “You’re the owner, aren’t you?”

 

Klaus shook his head. “I’m afraid not, but you’re close. Elijah is actually the owner and has been for nearly a century now.” He leaned closer to the table and gave her a small wink. “I often wondered if the reason for his discretion was whether or not this was a rendezvous spot with Katarina.”

 

Caroline was about to ask about his older brother when they heard footsteps. She was relieved as she watched Mario arrive with a huge tray of food, setting the dishes on their table. By the time he was done and was heading down the stairs, she decided it wasn’t the right time to ask about them—they were having a good time right now and she didn’t want to put a damper on their good moods.

 

“What’s all this?”

 

“I had the chef prepare a tasting menu for us. This way, instead of ordering entrées, you can try more items they offer here—just smaller versions of them.”

 

Caroline smiled and reached into her purse for her phone. She couldn’t pass up an opportunity to take a picture of her dinner—everything looked absolutely delicious and was artfully placed on the plates. She ignored Klaus’ amused look and snapped a few pictures on her phone before setting it down next to her.

 

“So what should we start with first?”

 

* * *

**~Meanwhile on the Other Side of Town~**

 

_While on the way to the hotel, Aria suggested that the first subject they should look into was ‘Davina Claire’ and her connection with witches. Bonnie turned towards the back seat and looked at Rebekah, giving her a small smile which was promptly returned, forming a tentative alliance. The ride was fairly quiet afterwards until Bonnie asked to swing by the Embassy Suites so she could grab a couple more grimoires and her laptop before heading to the Mandarin Oriental._

 

As soon as they arrived at the suite, the three set their books down on the large dining table and began their research. To a casual observer, they looked as though they were cramming for an exam as they scribbled notes, searched the internet, and perused through books.

 

“Nothing so far,” Rebekah remarked as she set another grimoire aside. She was able to get a better look at Aria and her facial features—the dining room lighting was brighter than the ones at the factory. “Has anybody ever told you that you look familiar?”

 

Aria nodded her head and looked at Rebekah with laughter in her eyes. “I have been told by many people that I look like Princess Jasmine in the Disney movie, Aladdin. In fact, while I was in boarding school, Jasmine was my nickname.”

 

Bonnie laughed and admitted it was the first thing she thought of when they first met. Rebekah nodded with a smile remembering how she spent endless nights watching movies and learning what she missed in history after being undaggered for so long.

 

“I don’t see anything here that indicates she’s associated with witches,” Aria said a half hour later. She closed a grimoire and rubbed her eyes.

 

“I’ve got nothing either,” Bonnie announced. “It doesn’t look like she comes from a family of witches so the odds are slim that she is one.”

 

Rebekah’s hopes were dashed at the news. They had nothing on the girl and she watched as Aria scribbled notes onto a writing tablet. _What if all their research led to roadblocks like this? What would be the next step?_

 

“Let’s change the subject slightly and see if there is anything in our books that could give us a clue on controlling a mass population of witches,” Aria suggested. “We’ll just approach it from a different angle.”

 

The two other women nodded in agreement before circulating the grimoires around once again.

“Thank you for helping us,” Bonnie said to Rebekah as she opened a particularly ancient one. “I know we never saw each other eye to eye but… thank you.”

 

Rebekah was momentarily stunned by Bonnie’s words and sat there with her jaw dropped for a few seconds before offering her a genuine smile. She was starting to feel overwhelmed with emotion—the fact that her brother had been more than amenable of late and now being able to help a couple witches, she started to feel on the verge of tears. She tried to think how her brothers would react if they saw her this very moment, knowing they’d likely tease her. The plan worked and she no longer felt like she was about to cry but still needed to change the subject. “Did you want to order some food? I think there’s a room service menu here.”

 

“I’ve got it.” Aria took her phone out and dialed a number. “Hello Francis? This is Aria Mubarak and I’m visiting the Mikaelsons’ suite. Can I have dinner brought up?” She held her hand over the speaker and whispered to Bonnie and Rebekah. “It’s my personal chef. What do you want? He can make just about anything.”

 

Rebekah grabbed some paper and a pencil, writing down her order before handing it to Bonnie. Aria got up and walked over to Bonnie and looked over her shoulder. “I would like my usual sushi platter. I also want to add a medium rare, filet mignon with roasted vegetables, and shrimp scampi with a Caesar salad. Also can you bring some bowls of snacks—preferably before the entrées? Thank you, that will be all for now. Merci, Francis.” Once she was done with the phone call, she set her phone down and looked over at Bonnie and Rebekah. “They’ll be here shortly with some snacks and then dinner will arrive soon after that.”

 

They all resumed their spots at the table perused through more books. Rebekah leaned back and looked at Aria once again. Just as she was about to say something, Aria looked up and quirked her eyebrow at her. “Sorry,” she muttered having been caught staring. “It’s just… you’re different. I can’t explain it, you give off a different—” Rebekah waved her hand as though she was trying to conjure the word from the air. “It’s a different magic.”

 

Bonnie looked over at Aria and then at Rebekah. “Caroline said the same thing. Is it a vampire thing you’re feeling?”

 

Rebekah shook her head. “I don’t think so. I thought I was good at spotting witches and would have probably been one had I not been turned, but this is different… it’s your signature or something. Bonnie’s was different than the witches of New Orleans but it was similar. Yours doesn’t fit that.”

 

“Hmm, maybe it is her Egyptian side blending with her witch side?” Bonnie offered and shrugged. “I’m just guessing because I can’t tell what you’re referring to.”

 

“Maybe that’s what it is. It’s nothing really, it was just an observation, that’s all,” Rebekah clarified and got up when she heard the knock on the door, relieved for the interruption. It wasn’t a bad feeling she got, but it was just hard to explain _what_ exactly she felt around Aria. _Perhaps Bonnie was right_ , she thought, _if Caroline felt it maybe it_ _was_ _a vampire thing_. “I’ll get the door.”

* * *

 

Caroline was enjoying herself—the food was wonderful and Klaus, amazingly, was good company—not that she really had any doubts, if she had to be honest with herself. He patiently explained each dish to her and the basic ingredients that went into each. Just as they were finishing up the beef carpaccio, her phone buzzed with a text message. Thinking it was Bonnie, she reached for it and frowned when she realized it wasn’t.

 

“Everything okay, love?” Klaus asked.

 

“It’s Damon.” She shook her head and rolled her eyes, not in the least surprised he was looking for _her_. She gave Klaus an apologetic look and responded to his text message.

 

_—I’m not with her, I’m busy._

 

He responded back a minute later.

 

_—I know. I went by your dorm and it looks like you’re gone along with Witchy. Where is Elena?_

 

“Seriously? Stop being an asshole,” she growled before sending a response back.

 

_—She’s not with us. Go away._

 

She was about to put her phone away when an evil idea came to her head and started giggling as she typed out the very next message.

 

_—Can’t talk now, we’re heading into a casino._

 

She showed her phone to Klaus and he started laughing. “I bet he’s making airline reservations as we speak, just to make sure you and Bonnie haven’t lied to him.”

 

Caroline nodded and laughed. “I know! I better let Bonnie know he might be texting her as well.” She sent Bonnie the message and attached a picture of their dinner to her. She set her phone aside once again. “Can I ask you something?”

 

Klaus was about to reply with a snarky remark but noticed she had a serious look on her face. “You can ask me anything, Caroline. That’s one of the reasons why I thought this was an ideal place since it affords us some privacy.”

 

“So you’re a king?”

 

Klaus grabbed the wine bottle and the last of it for them. “I was in the early days of New Orleans and I want it back from Marcel,” he said. “For months now, I’ve been a constant burr under his skin. His merry band of minions follow my every move whilst I’m in the French Quarter though I am sure he’ll soon start following my move everywhere. Someone is always there when I am at Rousseau’s—the bar that the witch Sophie works at as well as the object of his affections, Camille.”

 

“Sophie is the one that you and Rebekah mentioned was linked to Hayley?” Klaus nodded. “It sounds really complicated especially with the other stuff going on there. Do you think Aria will be able to help?”

 

“I certainly hope so and I know Rebekah is as well.”

 

“Did she seem different to you? Aria, I mean.”

 

Klaus thought for a moment and slowly nodded. “I am not quite sure what exactly, but yes, there is something different about her—I’m inclined to call it an aura but I don’t know for sure if that’s what it is. She’s got unknown factors no one in my family is likely to have seen. Her ancestors were very powerful if they served as priests and priestesses to a pharaoh. I don’t know if you know, but the Ancient Egyptians thought pharaohs were gods.”

 

“I didn’t know that,” Caroline replied. “Did you understand what she was writing on her scroll?”

 

“No, I knew they were Hieroglyphs of some sort but I couldn’t read it.”

 

“She seems pretty nice,” Caroline commented after taking a sip of wine. “I met her earlier this afternoon. I don’t know much else about her. I guess time will tell, right?”

 

Klaus nodded in agreement, it was too soon to have an opinion on the witch. Sure, she all but confirmed the child couldn’t plausibly be his, however, he was still wary of her. “Rebekah must have felt a kinship with her—she showed signs of being a witch before we were all changed. It’s rare to see her offer her help like that. Family is one thing, but Aria was practically a stranger so I would have to say we both must be hopeful but cautious at the same time.”

 

It was a lot to take in for Caroline and while she was grateful they weren’t fighting on opposing sides. The fact that both Rebekah and Klaus were not sure of things, troubled her though. There was so much they needed to know before they could even begin to formulate a plan. _Would they be able to by the end of the weekend?_ She had to think positive and believe between all of them, they would be able to figure something out.

 

Mario arrived less than a minute later and cleared the table handing Klaus a smaller menu.

 

“Caroline, would you like dessert?”

 

Caroline’s eyes widened as she shook her head. “I don’t think I can eat another bite! Everything was so delicious.”

 

“Perhaps another time then,” Klaus remarked before turning his attention to Mario. “That will be all, once again, the meal was exquisite.”

 

“It was a pleasure, Mr. Mikaelson. May you and your companion have a wonderful night. Buonasera.”

 

Once they were alone again, Caroline grabbed her phone off the table and checked for messages. There were none but she was surprised it was already after midnight. She hadn’t realized they had been here for so long. She slid her phone back in her purse and polished off the rest of the wine.

 

Klaus saw her putting things away and stood up. He pulled a few bills from his wallet and left it on the table before moving over to Caroline to help her out of her seat.

 

“Aren’t you going to wait for the bill? I think you might have left too much on the table.”

 

Klaus shrugged as he helped her with her coat once again. “The dinner and company was well worth it.”

 

“Well I had a good time too.”

* * *

**~Back at the Suite~**

 

_After they had their dinner, Rebekah, Aria and Bonnie resumed their research. The only interruption came when Bonnie received some text messages from Damon. She ignored him at first until Caroline sent her a message telling her about the casino fib along with a picture of her dinner. She couldn’t help but laugh and share the fun with Aria and Rebekah. Of course, Rebekah was more than happy to give a background on the antics of the doppelganger and the Salvatore brothers._

 

_Since Caroline ‘hinted’ they were heading to a casino, the two helped Bonnie up the ante. She ended up telling him they were staying at a Caesar’s hotel after Rebekah and Aria made reservations for several different ones under each of the girls’ last names. It was probably a dirty trick and no doubt, she won’t hear the end of it, but chasing after Elena wasn’t a priority at the moment. It was a bonding moment for the three women and they promptly took a break to order ice cream sundaes before going back to their research._

 

“I think I’m going to have to channel my ancestors tomorrow. We’re not getting any answers from our research.” Aria sighed as she closed the last grimoire and gave the two women apologetic smiles. “We’ll get answers, I was hoping we could do it without using that magic but no such luck.”

 

“You mentioned how it drains you. Will you be okay?” Bonnie asked as she began stacking the books up on the table.

 

“I’ll go and get some sleep, I should be fine. You’ll be able to help me. I know I’m being very vague but it is sometimes easier to show you than it is to explain. We could meet back at the same place in the morning?”

 

Rebekah nodded. “It shouldn’t be a problem. I’ll let Nik know. Why don’t you stay here? I’m sure Nik wouldn’t mind. There’s plenty of room.”

 

Bonnie looked at the time on her phone and realized it was getting late. She was tired from driving most of the night before and really wanted to sleep. _I hope Care doesn’t get pissed off I’m ditching her tonight,_ she thought as she sent a message to Caroline.

 

“I’ll go and stay with Aria. That way, if Klaus comes back, I won’t get in his way.” She gave Rebekah a smile as she got up to follow the witch. “Thank you again, we’ll see you tomorrow.”

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some random odds and ends - 
> 
> So the idea of cow brains came from an episode of 90210 when Donna and Brenda went to France and ordered tête de veau. 
> 
> I got the idea of the brothel from Scarlett - the Gone with the Wind sequel. I was only in the Atlanta area once so I’m not sure if a place even exists there or anywhere for that matter. I figured if speakeasies had interesting histories, then maybe a converted brothel would too. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Hopefully we’ll get back to regular postings in no time. 
> 
> XO ~ sushi


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why lookie here! I updated twice this month. Yeah, I did finish writing a chapter tonight so I figured it meant I could post another chapter. Writing is still not as fast paced as before but I’m feeling more optimistic and I’m getting words down—even if it is just a couple hundred in an evening. 
> 
> Thanks you hannahperry85 for her prereading awesomeness. I did look this through and hopefully caught all the mistakes. So I guess you can say it’s semi-betaed. All mistakes are mine though. 
> 
> The characters aren’t mine, they belong to their respective media outlets. 
> 
> Enjoy

_Their night wasn’t completely platonic—he caught Caroline looking at him a few times during dinner and if he wasn’t mistaken, she looked at him with the same fondness they shared_ _ that _ _day. He was certain she caught_ _ him _ _staring at her—given the way she responded with a smirk before quickly looking down at her plate._

The ride was silent as he drove them back to the factory —both contemplating on their evening together. For Caroline, she experienced new dishes, learned some history about Atlanta and most importantly, she enjoyed spending it with Klaus. She knew she wasn’t ready to jump into another relationship, especially when she just got over one and was still having to deal with the fall out. If this was Klaus showing his actual feelings, Caroline knew it would be easy to. She had a feeling human Caroline would probably have done that very thing.

Klaus hoped to finish the evening with a kiss goodnight—more if it was reciprocated. He couldn’t stop thinking about pulling her into his arms and running his fingers through her hair. The idea of feeling her in his arms was something he kept replaying in his mind since they got in his car. The uncertainty, however, stopped him from giving into his desire—he reminded himself over the course of the drive, to follow her lead. Afterall, she wasn’t just meant to be a quick romp for him—she was more and for that reason alone, he needed to control himself and his errant thoughts.

“Thank you for dinner,” Caroline said when he stopped the car. She looked over at Klaus and gave him a radiant smile. “I had a really good time.”

“It was my pleasure, Caroline,” Klaus replied after helping her out. He held out his arm for her as he walked her to her car. “Do you know how to get back to your hotel?”

“I think so. Bonnie and I have a room at the Embassy, which isn’t far from where you are. Plus my car has GPS.”

“Well, if you’d like to follow my car out, you’re more than welcome to.”

Once he got her car door open, they stood there quietly, staring into each other’s eyes. Caroline took a small step forward and rested her hands on his chest. She reached up and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek, lingering for a breath before moving back. “Good night Klaus, thank you again,” she whispered and climbed into her hatchback.

He shut the door and waited until her engine started before he returned to his car.

“Oh my god,” she whispered to herself once she got the car in gear and followed Klaus’ back towards Buckhead. It was only supposed to be an innocent kiss goodnight, but the feel of his soft stubble against her lips brought back memories of _that_ afternoon—not that she could _ever_ forget how it set her skin on fire. Her fingers brushed along her lips a couple times before she realized she should pay attention to Klaus’ car and the road. When they stopped at a stoplight, she took a deep, calming breath and waited for the light to change. She checked her phone and saw the message from Bonnie about staying at the Mandarin. While she was surprised by the message, she hoped it also meant good news. She decided that she’ll take a nice warm shower, perhaps take care of her little situation, and have a good night’s rest for tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Klaus’ emotions didn’t fair any better. While it was supposed to be an innocent, goodnight kiss, it brought back memories for him as well—her soft lips against his skin, the way she raked her nails over his body in the heat of passion. _One day_ , he reminded himself, recalling his vow to her that he’ll be her last love. He looked up at his rear view mirror and saw her car following his back toward their respective hotels. He knew there would be no sleep for him tonight; not that he often slept. He decided to channel his emotions elsewhere. Feeling particularly inspired, he figured he’d go back to Kol’s place and do some painting.

* * *

When Klaus returned to his suite, Rebekah was sitting at the table looking through the notes. Grimoires still covered the table since both Bonnie and Aria decided to leave them before they left to sleep.

“How was your evening?” Rebekah asked when her brother walked towards her.

“It was pleasant. Where is everybody?” He kept his reply short, not wanting to be interrogated by his sister.

Rebekah explained what had transpired during the evening. “They’re at her place getting some rest. Aria mentioned how she’ll need to tap into the ancient magic and needed the energy.”

“And they left their grimoires here?”

“Bonnie said she might come back over early in the morning but wasn’t sure. It didn’t make sense to transport them back and forth at this late hour.”

“You didn’t cause any trouble, did you?”

Rebekah rolled her eyes and glared at her brother. “I’m not stupid, Nik. I _am_ able to comport myself when dealing with adversaries. Whatever this is, it’s big and I’m not about to let personal differences get in the way of working together. Besides, I think we’ve achieved détante tonight.”

“We have so much at stake, I just don’t want to run the risk of losing,” Klaus admitted as he sat down on one of the chairs next to hers. It was rare for him to show his vulnerability but out of all his siblings, Rebekah was the only one he allowed to see him at this state. Besides, he could tell from the way she flipped from one grimoire to another that she felt the same way.

“I don’t either,” she replied, no longer angry at Nik. “So where did you and the cheerleader go?”

“Caroline,” he grumbled. “Her name is Caroline.” He was ready to make more of a fuss over his sister’s impudence but decided it would certainly draw more attention than he wanted. “We went to the restaurant Elijah owns.”

“The old brothel building? I thought that was where you went. Bonnie showed us the picture Caroline sent her.” She was lost in thought for a brief moment before she looked back up at her brother. “That’s the place where where Bruno worked, right?” Rebekah looked down at her book as memories of one of their turn of the century trips out to Atlanta flooded her brain.

_It had been a few months after narrowly escaping Mikael in New Orleans and they were now living in Chicago. Even though they were in a new city, they still needed to look for escape routes and would set out on periodic trips, looking for new places that afforded them the ability live quietly with a steady enough population for them to feed off of. Atlanta was on their list once again but once they got there, they realized it was just too close to New Orleans and they couldn’t take that risk so soon after having just left there. As much as they enjoyed the city, they had to look elsewhere but before they left, he took her to the restaurant where a young man, Bruno, served them._

“Yes but I didn’t inquire about him. I do believe a descendent of his has taken over as maître d’. His name is Mario and he’s the spitting image of Bruno. The food is wonderful, perhaps even more so than the last time we dined there.” Klaus got up and started to walk towards his adjoining room.

“Hmm, maybe I should go there for dinner tomorrow night.” A moment later, Klaus returned with a duffel bag and was heading towards the door. “Where are you going, Nik?”

“I thought I’d go back to Kol’s place and perhaps do some painting. Perhaps move some more furniture out of the smaller bedroom so it’s more welcoming for our second meeting tomorrow.”

“Okay, the girls are coming back here in the morning to gather their things.”

He handed the car keys over to his sister. “Bring some refreshments with you, it might be a long day tomorrow and we want everybody to be comfortable.”

“I’m not going to one of those stores again, Nik.”

“Well, call up the concierge and have something brought over from catering or something.” Klaus shook his head irritably, eager to be alone and do some painting.

“How are you getting to Kol’s then?”

“I can just call a cab.” He noticed the look she was giving him, as though any moment, he would attack her and honestly, he couldn’t blame her as he _had_ on numerous occasions. “It’s okay, little sister. I’m willing to ride in a hired car so we can make sure our witch is comfortable tomorrow. Sometimes we need to step outside our comfort zone.” _There was too much at stake not to_ , he added in his mind.

* * *

**~Embassy Suites~**

After a long, hot, and _very_ enjoyable shower, Caroline was ready for sleep. She got into bed and shut the lights after setting her alarm. Unfortunately, the room wasn’t as quiet as she hoped for and it felt as though the darkness only heightened the noises around her. She could hear the dripping of a shower from the room closest to her bed. Above her, someone was watching a movie and from the sounds, it was definitely _not_ what she wanted to hear. Down the hotel corridor, she could hear the ding of the elevator, followed by kids running down the hallway and then back up again. At that moment, she wished she was still human because she wouldn’t have noticed the sounds coming at all.

She tossed and turned and even tried covering one pillow over her head but with her sensitive hearing, it was no use. Maybe if she wasn’t as tired, it wouldn’t have bothered her, but she was and growing crankier by the second. She sat up and turned on the lights as she quickly pondered what to do. She could go over to the Mandarin and see if she could crash at the Mikaelsons but quickly dismissed the idea. She didn’t want to show up uninvited or worse, looking like a stalker and having to explain to Rebekah why she was there.

She got out of bed and threw her hair into a messy ponytail before changing from her pajamas to a pair of yoga pants and a baggy sweatshirt. She quickly threw some things into her bag and walked out to her car. She couldn’t help but smile when she opened her hatchback—Bonnie had teased her when she brought her pillow from the dorm along with a sleeping bag with them on the road trip.

“ _Care, hotels do have bedding. Why are you bringing it?”_

“ _Because, what if something happens and we get stuck on the side of the road and there’s no hotel nearby?”_

“Ha! See, I _knew_ it would come in handy,” she muttered triumphantly to herself as she got into the car and started the motor.

* * *

 

Klaus was wiping one of his brushes as he stared at the exposed brick wall. It hadn’t taken him long at all to get to the factory—the hotel summoned their chauffeur for him almost immediately, eager to please a guest staying at their luxurious suites. As soon as he arrived, he changed into his painting clothes and covered the entire wall with blacks and greys. Once one section was dry, he started to paint ghostly lines in what looked like random patterns. He was about to add to his painting when he heard a car pull up.

He quietly gathered his supplies and hid them in the first bathroom before shutting all the lights when he heard the door to the building open. Only the windows kept the building from looking completely pitch dark. _Was it the witch coming here to wreak havoc or some poor human who found themselves lost?_ Either way, he smirked as imagined attacking the intruder and draining them of their blood.

* * *

Caroline wasn’t sure why she drove here, she had found the building interesting when they had their meeting earlier and she felt more at ease here than in her loud hotel—enough she was willing to spend the night alone. She parked her car in front of the building and grabbed her things, not caring that a typical human probably wouldn’t be able to easily balance a carry-on size case along with a sleeping bag and her fluffy pillow. She figured it was late at night and obviously the street looked deserted—the nearest car was a more than a block away.

She easily got into the building and huffed her things up the metal stairs. The large door was lifted so she just walked right in and noticed a strange but familiar smell that wasn’t there earlier. Remembering where she had seen a light switch, she felt along the wall for it and flipped it, encasing the room with dim lighting. The first thing she noticed was a tarp on the floor and paint splatters. She walked over to it and noticed the smell was from the paint and it was fresh.

“Oh shit,” she whispered dropping her things onto the floor in shock and mortification. She looked around, realizing Klaus _had_ to be here.

“Imagine my surprise that the good sheriff’s daughter is breaking and entering,” Klaus drawled as he sauntered in from the hallway. He hadn’t expected Caroline to show up, especially carrying overnight things. He would have guessed something happened between her and Bonnie but he had been assured by his sister the former Bennett witch was staying at Aria’s flat. He wasn’t complaining that she was here as he watched her shift her weight nervously while avoiding his gaze.

“I um… I was hearing noises in the room and it was too much. One room was watching porn another had a leaky faucet… and then the dinging! And then the kids! It was horrible!” She started pacing about and kept throwing her hands up in the air in agitation. “I didn’t want to go to _your_ hotel and look like a crazy stalker. Plus I had my pillow and stuff in the car so here I am.”

Just like the time she showed up at his house rambling about her prom dress, he was having a hard time stopping himself from chuckling.

“Are you laughing at me?” she asked, frowning at him. She didn’t want her gaze to linger too long though. It was hard ignoring him on a normal basis but there was something about his paint splattered clothes that she found devastatingly handsome. _You’re getting sleep deprived, Care._

He held a finger up and flashed over to the refrigerator taking a couple blood bags out for them, taking advantage of the moment to regroup and once again look serious. “Here, you’re looking a little paler than normal,” he murmured as he pulled the stopper out. “And for the record, since you broke into my family property, I think laughing at you is sufficient punishment.” He gave her a wink before holding his blood bag up as a toast.

“This is your place?” she asked and clapped her hand over her eyes, wishing the floor would open up right now. _Of course it wasn’t just some random place they met_ , she chided herself.

“Technically it was Kol’s but Rebekah and I decided to keep this place in the family. That’s why I was here tonight, to do some painting.” He noticed she was silent, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment so he motioned her to follow him. “I want to show you something,” he explained when Caroline gave him a questioning look.

He walked over to the recessed area and opened the door to the roof. Caroline followed him up the stairs and gasped when she reached the top. “It’s beautiful up here,” she whispered.

“This used to be an old factory…” Klaus told Caroline all that he knew of the building and Kol had been so happy about this place. “I had set aside some art pieces for him but then we had a bit of a falling out.” He took a deep breath and stared out towards the Atlanta skyline.

“Klaus,” she said and turned towards him. “I’m really sorry about Kol. I should have said something that… but I was rude and things got heated…”

Klaus held his hand up to stop her. “Thank you, Caroline,” he whispered. “I must apologize for hurting you, I was not myself at that moment and I took my anguish and aggression out on you.” It wasn’t an easy thing for him to say but that incident haunted him for months, though he would never admit it outright. If he hadn’t cured her from his bite, she would have been lost to him forever.

“So should we toast to a new beginning?” Caroline asked as she held up her blood bag.

“To new beginnings.”

They touched blood bags and drank them in silence, both enjoying the view and company.

“So what were you painting?” Caroline asked after she finished her bag.

“It’s a little something I had in mind. In fact, I was painting something similar that day you sent me the text message. This will be on a grander scale, which I figure I should finish by morning.”

“I can leave so you can finish,” she replied, trying to hold back a yawn.

Klaus shook his head and took her empty blood bag before walking back down the stairs. “Nonsense, you can stay if you’d like.”

Caroline followed him back down and smiled. “Thank you.” She walked over to her sleeping bag and took it to the wall of windows, finding a dark spot away from him.

“Sweetheart, there’s a bed… it was Kol’s but you can use it,” he said.

Caroline noticed it was his turn to look uncomfortable as he ran his hand through his hair. “What’s wrong with it? Is it smelly or full of dirty clothes?”

Klaus shook his head and motioned towards the hallway. She shook her head and decided to check it herself.

“Oh my god!” she yelled. “He had a round bed? Did he think he was Austin Powers or something?”

“He must have gotten the idea from it.” Klaus chuckled as he remembered having caught Kol watching that inane movie. Apparently Kol must have loved it so much he wanted to emulate the character. Klaus continued watching Caroline from the doorway as she started laughing until she was bent over trying to catch her breath. He enjoyed the view but also enjoyed hearing her laughter. “You’re welcome to it, sweetheart,” he said with a smirk.

“Are the sheets clean?” she asked as she delicately plucked the covers off. “I’ll just sleep on top of it with my sleeping bag and pillow.”

Klaus nodded and turned around, ready to continue his painting as she followed him back to the main room and grabbed her things.

“Hey Klaus?” Caroline called out and waited until he turned around. “Would you really have walked away and left me alone like you said that day?”

“I would have,” he replied softly, as he gazed at her. “It would have taken all my power to walk away forever, but if that was what you wished, I would have acquiesced. It was even more difficult after… when we parted. I assure you, I would have respected your wishes.”

Caroline chewed her bottom lip and dropped her eyes from Klaus’ intense look. “But… but you said at my graduation that you intended to be my last.”

Klaus was shocked that the young blonde vampire seemed to have taken his words to heart and how upset she looked. These were emotions he wasn’t quite familiar with in his long life. While he knew his feelings, her’s had always been a mystery—until now. He wanted to rejoice in her words but at the same time, felt it was wise to reassure her given by the hurt and confused expression on her face. “And I would have. What you said out there—your human dreams that you wanted to achieve, I would have walked away to allow you that time. Remember the last part of my wish from that night—however long it takes.”

“There are moments when I want to be with you but then I…” Caroline blurted out, a shimmer of tears in her eyes. “I get scared. I think about how you’re a thousand years old and I’m just a fraction of that. What if I’m not enough for you? I mean, you probably had a _bazillion_ women before. Can I even satisfy you?” She began pacing around again, wringing her hands while periodically wiping her tears angrily. “But you know what? As much as I think about that, I think also about how you’re so different with me and I like it. I _liked_ kissing you and being with you that day but my fears… they are real and I get confused thinking about it all!”

Klaus stood there breathlessly as she bared her soul to him. “Caroline,” he whispered as he set aside his pride and looked at her. “I have fears of my own when it comes to you. What if you can’t accept the fact that I am one of the darkest and most feared creatures on earth. I’ve been around for so long, I don’t think it would be possible to _not_ be. I’m not saying I’ll ever be the polar opposite of who I am today but you make me _want_ to be better. You’re so full of light and joy… what if I take that away from you? Mikael always hinted I was nothing but poison and what if it’s true?” He took a step closer to her when she stopped moving and rested his hand on her shoulder. “As for my feelings, they won’t change. Caroline, I may not have had a bazillion women, as you said, but I didn’t live a celibate life either. Even before our rendezvous in the woods, I wanted you and I still do. You’re not merely a quick tumble, you’re more than that. How much more depends on you.”

Caroline stood there, stunned by his confession. She thought of it often since their moment in the woods and even this morning, Bonnie expressed the very concerns she had. She wanted to say something; _anything_ to reassure him but all she could do was stand there staring at him.

He took one more step so they were nearly touching. He brushed the hair out of her eyes slowly as though any quick movement would spook her, noting her face was scrubbed of any traces of makeup. He believed she was never more beautiful. “I won’t rush you, Caroline,” Klaus whispered, placing a soft kiss on her temple. “I don’t want to be out of your life either.”

“I don’t want you out of my life either,” she said and mentally chided herself for parroting his words. It wasn’t everything she wanted to say, but for now, it seemed to be enough. She reached up and curled her hand around the back of his neck. She stood on her tip-toes and kissed along his jaw. She was about to kiss him on his lips when she let out another yawn.

Klaus chuckled as her face turned bright red once again. “Go to sleep, sweetheart. In the morning you’ll be able to see the completed painting.”

* * *

It was just before dawn when Klaus put the finishing touches on his mural. He took a step back as he looked at his work before grabbing a rag and wiping the excess paint off his hands. He walked back to the bedroom area and peeked through the door at Caroline sleeping on top of the round bed. He turned back and pulled out some clean clothes before jumping in the shower.

He tried not to focus on the sleeping blonde just a few feet from where he was. If he did, he knew he would lose what little control he had and ravage her. He doubt she would have put up much of a fuss, until the others arrived. The idea of being caught, quickly brought him out of his fantasy. As he washed the pastel paint splatters off his skin, he wondered what today’s meeting would bring. _Would they be able to find answers?_ While he tried to remain optimistic, he knew better than to live on false hope. _For the witch’s sake, there better be some sort of sign._

The stirring coming from the bedroom was a signal that Caroline was close to waking up. He longed for the day she would fall asleep in his arms and wake up next him. Given their conversation hours ago, he believed it could very well happen one day.

He quickly got dressed and left the room before Caroline woke up. There was a text message on his phone from his sister indicating that they’d arrive in a couple hours and she ordered some food to be delivered to the factory. He went into the second bedroom and began taking an inventory of the furniture, pulling anything that looked useful and didn’t require assembling.

It didn’t take him long before he had a small sitting area set up on one corner of the main room. It was just a couple chairs and an area rug, but it made the room less empty. Klaus also found some outdoor furniture crammed into the room and was setting up an area on the rooftop when he heard Caroline get out of bed.

She freshened up in the bathroom and wished she had bath products when she spotted the large, soaking tub. Once she was dressed and looked presentable, she repacked her things and came out to the main room. She watched as Klaus carried a chair up the rooftop stairs. She followed him out of curiosity and was amazed at the little oasis he set up.

“This is a great idea to have a sitting area up here,” she said with a smile as she sat on one of the teak chairs. “It’s comfy too.”

“Good morning, Caroline,” Klaus said with a smile. “Did you sleep well?”

“That bed, as crazy as it looked, was very nice. Did you finish your painting?”

“You didn’t see it when you came out?”

“No.” She laughed and shook her head. “I spotted the sunrise and you running with furniture so I didn’t pay attention.”

Klaus held out his arm and smirked. “Well, shall we?”

They walked down the stairs and back into the main room. The morning sun was starting to brighten the room and Caroline could now see the mural painted onto the exposed brick wall, opposite the windowed wall. It was a forest but the way Klaus painted it, it was slightly abstract with ghostly trees painted in varying shades of white, set in different angles against a dark, cloudy background. There were random leaves scattered about in varying shades of green. Caroline spotted something that seemed to stand out on the forest floor and moved closer to the painting.

“Oh my god!” Caroline exclaimed as she got closer to the painting and pointed. “Is that my torn top with leaves on top of it?” She looked at another area and spotted something almost matched her underwear set that day. She looked at Klaus—eyes wide with shock.

“That vision has been in my head for a couple weeks and even though I did a canvas version, it didn’t do it justice as this one did,” he explained, suddenly uncomfortable as he waited for her to get angry and criticize his painting. “I made sure the articles of clothing were well hidden amongst the fallen leaves. I doubt most people would notice.”

Armed with the knowledge he painted the mural based on their afternoon, Caroline was able to spot some of the hidden pieces of clothing—some of them were even his. “I like the sharp contrast of the trees and the background,” she began as she walked around, viewing the mural at different angles. “I look at this and it means something,” she said softly, rubbing her fingertips over _that_ spot. “It’s beautiful, meaningful, and at the same time, chaotic. I don’t know if it makes sense...”

“Caroline.” Klaus moved closer to her and put his hand over hers. “Does that spot bother you? I’ve noticed you touching that same area before.”

Caroline wrinkled her brow and tried unsuccessfully to remove her hand from under his, blushing as though he caught her doing something bad.

With his free hand, he hooked a finger under her chin and gently lifted so they looked at each other eye to eye. “Talk to me.”

“I didn’t realize I was touching that spot,” she replied. “You bit me right here.” She moved her hand so his fingertips grazed that part of her collarbone, near her neck. Her eyes fluttered shut and she probably would have started purring because it felt _that_ good. She opened her eyes and brought her hands up she could brush up against the spot she had bitten him.

Klaus’ lips parted and he fought to keep his wits about him. He could easily back her against the wall and take her right there. Unlike a few nights ago when that human ran her hands over her spot, this felt so right.

He moved his hand up and cradled her head as he slammed his lips into hers. Her arms wrapped around him like a vise. It was a quick and heated kiss as their tongues caressed each others and her fingers threaded through his hair.

“We need to stop,” he panted, a minute later and rested his forehead against hers. “They’ll be here soon and we can’t get carried away.”

“Right,” she said as she caught her breath and tried to straighten her appearance. “Is it common to feel that way? You know… sharing blood?”

Klaus shrugged. “To be honest, you were the first that I ever shared blood in that manner. I was the one that usually did the biting but it was never reciprocated and usually meant a meal.”

Caroline frowned at his explanation, suddenly jealous of all the nameless women he was ever with. But his words dawned on her that _she_ was the only one who shared blood while they were in their throes of passion. _Hmm, I wonder if I should ask Elena about blood sharing when I get a chance? Didn’t she say she did that with Damon?_ As curious as she was, the young vampire just wasn’t ready to talk to Elena about something she shared with Damon. It was then she decided they both needed to change the subject fast, otherwise, they’d probably end up getting caught in a very compromising position. She took a step back and looked back up at Klaus, giving him a playful smile. “I can help you with furniture stuff if you’d like.

* * *

_Together, with the items they found in the second bedroom, Klaus and Caroline worked on bringing a little more life to the main room of the factory house—as Caroline began calling it. The room still looked vast but there were now some more area rugs on the floors as well as some lounge chairs facing the skyline. As the bedroom was cleared of most large pieces, they discovered a door that lead to a room full of industrial equipment and machine parts. They brought out another metal table and cleaned off some chairs giving them an even larger workspace for today’s upcoming meeting._

“It still looks like a huge room but it isn’t as bad as before. I bet you could still land a small plane in here,” Caroline remarked an hour later. “If you come back here next time, you should bring back some paintings, especially if they’re large pieces. I think it’ll brighten things up.”

Klaus chuckled at her words causing her to look at him with a frown. “Sweetheart, have you forgotten that a lot of my paintings are full of darkness?”

Caroline rolled her eyes. “Point taken, wrong choice of words. You know what I mean though, right? It will make it look more lived in.”

“Well, isn’t this a picture of domestic bliss,” Rebekah called out from the doorway. She looked at her brother and Caroline as though she just caught them in a scandalous position. She pushed herself out of the doorway and walked into the room, looking around and nodding in satisfaction. “It looks nice. I like the forest mural, Nik. It’s a good contrast to have it facing the Atlanta skyline. You’re here rather early,” Rebekah quipped as she walked over towards Caroline. “Couldn’t sleep? Or did you sleep at all?”

Caroline kept silent and stared at the concrete floor. She was willing herself not to say a word. She wasn’t confident that she could pretend nothing happened—not that _anything_ happened other than some words and a quick but heated kiss. _And what a kiss it was_. Still, she felt if she were to open her mouth now, Rebekah would know that she had feelings for her brother.

“Rebekah,” Klaus warned as he took a step closer to his sister.

“Oh relax!” She rolled her eyes and smiled at the two of them. “I don’t want to know what’s going on between you two and don’t bother denying that there isn’t. I can tell something’s different. Aria and Bonnie are on their way, the caterers will be here any moment with breakfast and some snacks.”

Klaus muttered something about putting away his painting supplies leaving Rebekah and Caroline alone.

“I’ll go freshen up.” Caroline turned and was about to walk away when Rebekah reached out and took a hold of her arm. It wasn’t a strong grip meant to intimidate, and Caroline easily could have broken out of the hold but she halted, curious at what Rebekah was up to.

“Wait, I just want to say something.” Rebekah let go of the blonde’s arm and gave Caroline a stern look before she continued. “I don’t know if you’re playing a game or not with Nik but if you are, you better stop.” As much as she often bickered with her brother, she didn’t want to see him hurt, knowing all of them, Elijah included, would feel the brunt of his anger if he was played a fool. “I don’t know what he sees in you, but I can tell he treats you differently. If you value your life and your friends’, you'll heed my warning.”

“There’s no trick,” Caroline replied, looking straight into Rebekah’s eyes. As much as she would have liked to rail at her for threatening her, Caroline recognized Rebekah was standing up for her brother. “Things _are_ different but how… it’s too soon to say.” She twisted her body so Rebekah’s hold on her arm was disengaged. “If we’re all going to work together, I suppose we need to call a truce between us.”

Rebekah nodded curtly and turned towards the door as she heard a van pull up. “Fine, but I’m still keeping my eye on you.”

Klaus couldn’t help but overhear their conversation as he made sure his brushes were dry before putting them back in their container. He merely left the room to avoid his sister’s interrogation but neglected to consider the fact that she would harass Caroline. He was ready to return to the main room and berate his sister for threatening the young blonde. It wasn’t necessary as he heard her sticking up for herself and even putting aside any personal issues so they could all work towards a common goal.

When he finally walked out to the main room, the hotel caterers were busy setting everything up for their upcoming meeting. They worked quickly and quietly setting a food and beverage area. In less than a half hour, they were done and Klaus gave them a generous tip for their services.

It wasn’t long after they left that Bonnie and Aria arrived.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NOTES: While I’m not ready for them to jump into bed or another forest, I did want to show that they do desire each other. 
> 
> Let me know your thoughts, I love hearing from you all. 
> 
> Thank you! XO ~ sushi


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This will be a short note to thank all you readers for the favorites, alerts, and reviews. 
> 
> As always, the story is the only thing I own. 
> 
> More notes at the bottom. 
> 
> Enjoy~

When Bonnie arrived to the factory, she immediately looked for Caroline, who was pouring a cup of coffee. “Nice food pic from last night. Where were you, by the way?” she whispered.

 

“What?” Caroline replied, trying to look innocent.

 

“I mean, you weren’t at—”

 

Before she could finish, Caroline gave Bonnie the ‘not now’ look. Caroline looked around the room for a place to talk in private. Aria and Rebekah were talking near the entrance while Klaus sat at the table looking bored. She had a feeling he was aware and listening to everything though. “Let’s go upstairs,” she suggested and Bonnie nodded as she followed Caroline up to the roof.

 

Once there were on the rooftop, Bonnie continued, still whispering in case the other vampires could hear them. “So where were you? We stopped by the hotel this morning so I could grab some clean clothes. Some of your things were gone and so was your car.”

 

“I stayed here last night,” Caroline began. She told Bonnie about the noises she heard and how she just couldn’t fall asleep so she came here. “I didn’t realize Klaus would be here too.”

 

“Wait!” she exclaimed, eyes wide in shock. “Are you going to tell me you slept with Klaus, _again_?”

 

“No!” Caroline almost yelled out loud. “It wasn’t like that,” she continued. “We talked a bit and then this morning we sort of shared a kiss.”

 

Even though she mumbled the last part, Bonnie heard every word Caroline said. “Care? What’s going on between the two of you?”

 

“I like him but I’m not ready to be _with_ him, you know? I think he feels the same.”

 

“Okay, just be careful, Care,” Bonnie said and gave Caroline a pat on her shoulder. “I don’t want you getting hurt.”

 

“I don’t want to be hurt either.”

 

Meanwhile, downstairs in the main room, Klaus continued watching his sister and Aria as they talked about places they’ve visited in France. He could tell from the way they were talking animately, the two were on friendly terms—a rarity given how witches were normally standoffish, especially with relatively unknown vampires. Of course, they weren’t _really_ unknown, being Original vampires but often, the stories and legends were usually enough to intimidate any witch or other supernatural being.

 

He propped his feet on the chair across from him and wondered about the conversation up on the roof. He wasn’t purposely trying to eavesdrop, his hybrid hearing was just more acute than a vampire’s so he was able to hear everything. He was merely curious by the way the former witch confronted her friend earlier and was ready to intervene if he had to. He was taken back by Bonnie’s reaction to Caroline’s news. Even though Caroline had explained how her friends supported her, he hadn’t been thoroughly convinced given their volatile history. He supposed it was a good thing —that Bonnie Bennett wasn’t quick to judge her friend given how important she was to Caroline. Still, he continued to be cautious and wary of everything. Both Bonnie and Aria have managed to convince his sister that they were here for a common goal, but he was going to continue doubting until there were answers.

 

“Oh good, you’re back,” Aria said when Bonnie returned from the rooftop. “I’m going to get set up if you want to gather everybody to the table.”

 

“Sure,” Bonnie replied and motioned them all to follow her—not that they needed to having all heard Aria’s request.

 

Aria asked Bonnie to sit next to her and the others to sit on the opposite side. Klaus sat in the middle with Rebekah on his left and Caroline on his right, directly across from Bonnie. “Thank you for bringing another table, it might come in handy today.” She opened up her satchel and brought out her burner like the night before. She also brought out an ancient looking glass vessel and set it in front of her before placing a couple scrolls on the table along with some loose paper.

 

“Since we couldn’t come up with answers last night, I will be tapping into the ritual magic of the ancient ancestors of my father. This means, I’ll try to communicate with the dead,” Aria began. “Unlike Bonnie who can see just those on the Other Side, I should be able to find the answer from the different realms of the dead.” She looked up and noticed the looks of skepticism from everybody and nodded. “Okay, I can see you’re doubtful so let me try something before we do that. I want to reassure both of you and rather than sit here and explain, we’ll try a little exercise.” She handed a sheet of blank paper to Klaus along with a pen. “Since you and your sister are the ones looking for answers, I need you both to write your names on the paper and think about someone—a loved one from your past. Continue thinking about that particular person until I let you know the spell is complete.”

 

Klaus took the paper and held the pen in the air for a brief moment before making a decision. He wrote his full name, Niklaus Mikaelson, using the ancient runic alphabet of his Viking ancestry, but purposely inverting some of the characters. It had been something he created and taught his younger siblings when they were human. It had been a way to hide messages from the usually bossy Elijah and Finn—often, to escape from doing chores. He figured if this was some sort of witch’s parlor trick, it would be very easy to catch the deception. He passed the paper to his sister who also wrote her name using their childhood ‘secret language’.

 

Caroline was fascinated with the writing but remained silent. She watched as Rebekah used what seemed like the same alphabet before handing the paper back to Aria. She wanted to ask questions but decided to wait until there was a break.

 

Aria thanked Rebekah and Klaus before folding the paper in half and then into fourths. She set the paper on the table and brought out another dish. Aria poured some liquid onto the metal dish and then unwrapped what looked like a needle that she had in between the stack of papers. Everybody watched as she pricked her finger and drew a drop of blood. She chanted as the drop fell into the liquid, and swirled as if to mix everything together. Next, she placed the paper on top of the mixture and set it on fire—her chanting grew louder as she began waving her hands in a circular motion until the folded paper turned to ashes. She looked up towards the ceiling as she raised her hands in the air and began another incantation. Suddenly, a puff of smoke appeared from the burner sending what looked like an unburnt piece of scrap paper in the air.

 

For Caroline, the scene reminded her of one of the Harry Potter movies and she looked over at Bonnie knowing it was one of her favorites. Bonnie looked over at her friend and gave her a little wink to show she caught the reference too.

 

The paper landed on the table face down. Aria gave them each a nod, to indicate the spell was complete before pushing the piece towards Klaus. He picked up the paper, noting it was a different feel than the one he had written on just moments ago.

 

“What is it, Nik?” Rebekah asked as she moved closer to her brother.

 

Klaus turned the paper over and gasped—it was the familiar, youthful hand of their youngest brother.

 

“It’s Henrik,” Rebekah exclaimed in shock. She felt the sting of tears from behind her eyes as she remembered their playful little brother. “I know that handwriting anywhere, even over a millennia later.”

 

“Who is Henrik?” Aria asked.

 

“He was our youngest brother. He died when we got attacked by werewolves and it was basically because of his death, that our mother, Esther, turned us to vampires,” Rebekah explained, not wanting to elaborate any further.

 

Klaus nodded, momentarily unable to speak due to his emotions. He pointed to one runic character in particular. “His hand was always shaky when he wrote this.” He gave the paper to Rebekah before he looked up at Aria. “You proved that you can contact the dead but that isn’t an answer.”

 

“Nik, your hand was covering this,” Rebekah murmured as she pointed to a what looked like a squiggle at the bottom corner. “Do you think it is a message?” There was a hope in her eyes as she imagined their youngest brother trying to communicate with them from the dead. _After all, wasn’t what this spell was about?_

 

Klaus shook his head not wanting to get his hopes up and handed the paper back to Aria. “It could just be a squiggle nothing more.” He gave Rebekah a small smile—one he rarely wore to show he wasn’t trying to be harsh with his words. She understood and gave him a small nod in return.

 

Aria took the paper. “As I mentioned earlier, it was merely a demonstration to alleviate your doubts. Allow me to tap into the magic further.” She took a deep breath and looked over at Bonnie. “I’ll need your help. You will see me skirting the Other Side. Normally I use most of my energy to keep from going in there but just skirt the surface enough to get answers. It takes a lot of my energy to fight the pull, so your job is to hold me back—keep me from crossing you especially if you see me struggling.”

 

“Okay.” Bonnie tried to sound nonchalant about the situation. She wasn’t sure just _how_ Aria was going to go about in communicating with the dead. She looked over at Aria with concern. “Are you going to be okay?”

 

“I will be,” Aria replied and looked around the table. “Just to be safe though, I am going to do this sitting on the floor. Can you help me set up?”

 

Bonnie moved the burner onto the cement floor and brought Aria’s satchel nearby. To make things comfortable, Caroline and Bonnie moved the area rugs over giving them all a place to sit with a space for the burner in the middle. The papers were once again set next to her and the metal bowl where she had her blood was placed directly in front of the witch.

 

“If you can gather in a makeshift circle, I’ll begin. Bonnie, if you start to see or hear me struggle—especially if I’m having trouble breathing, pour some of the oil into the burner and with the frankincense, the scent will bring me back.” She pointed to the same liquid she used to mix with her drop of blood. “Whatever you do, don’t try to bring me out of my trance any other way.”

 

Bonnie nodded slowly in understanding, but given the frown on her face, she had a feeling she wasn’t going to like what she was going to see and experience.

 

“What kind of oil is it?” Caroline asked hoping it wasn’t an explosive that would trap and burn them all. Just to be safe, she looked from where they were sitting to the windows and to the roof, certain they could all run for safety if needed.

 

“It’s based on an ancient recipe of different essential oils made of wood and flowers—nothing harmful but the blend is precise to create this formula. It was used in rituals to communicate with the gods and the dead—so it will help facilitate my travel. To be honest, for most people, it’s more like an ancient perfume that you burn.”

 

The ritual started the same as before but this time, there wasn’t a folded piece of paper. The chanting sounded similar to Caroline and she could tell it wasn’t in Latin like Bonnie’s spells were. The metal bowl ignited with the blood and oil mixture and began shooting a couple small sparks out.

 

All of a sudden, Aria’s brown eyes morphed into a bright blue and she let out a scream. The group watched in shock and let out various muttered exclamations just as Aria began to teeter over to her left side. Rebekah being the closest with vampire senses, caught her head in time to keep her from smashing it onto the concrete floor. The motion didn’t faze Aria as she continued chanting; the only difference was her voice was more quiet than before.

 

As he sat there, Klaus contemplated over what he had just witnessed. In all the centuries he roamed on earth, Klaus had never seen anything like it. It was an eerie feeling to watch the witch as she continued her incantation—her body now twitching as though she was having convulsions. Whatever magic was being used, he knew it was strong and could feel the tingles along his skin. He could tell both his sister and Caroline felt it too as they kept rubbing their hands over their arms as though to brush the feeling away.

 

Seeing Aria so helpless was a frightening sight for Caroline. For a moment, it brought her back to when she was being terrorized by Silas the night the veil dropped and she no longer had control over her actions. She remembered wanting to stop herself from slicing her arm but she couldn’t. Caroline wanted to pour oil into the burner right away, disturbed by the way Aria’s body kept jerking about, looking so helpless. Unconsciously, she moved closer towards Klaus, seeking some sort of reassurance or comfort as they all continued to watch the young witch go through her ritual. If Klaus noticed, he didn’t react to her actions and she was grateful—now was _not_ the time to draw attention to herself. She looked over at Bonnie who continued to monitor Aria as the chanting continued.

 

Rebekah was trying hard to remain calm but internally, she was a wreck. She wasn’t sure if they would find any answers and if they didn’t, where would they go next? It was hard to be optimistic when there was so much at stake, not to mention wanting her brother to take her seriously for once. So far, Nik had given her the opportunity to play a part in helping not only Elijah, but possibly more if Aria’s theory held true. She knew there was a proverbial line between working alongside Nik and being dismissed as usual—and that line was fragile. At any moment, her brother couldtake that away from her—leaving her to be nothing more than the little sister who was often looked at as being spoiled and impulsive. She wanted nothing more than be accepted as an equal.

 

“I see her, Aria’s here,” Bonnie whispered as faced the windows, her eyes not focused on the actual view. “No, Aria, you can’t move past me!” She held her hands up as though trying to block someone from crossing her—the struggle lasted for more than a few minutes before Aria began gasping for breath, her body rising off the floor and thrashing about.

 

“Care, take the bottle and pour some oil into the burner,” Bonnie ordered, now focusing on being in the factory house. She tried to hold down the witch as she thrashed about gasping for air. “I don’t want her to hurt herself.”

 

Caroline did as Bonnie asked and poured a small drizzle into the burner. The flame seemed to stutter for a brief moment before smoke began to rise. Aria’s body slackened for a moment and if it weren’t for her steady heartbeat, they would have thought she was dead.

 

They all looked at each other, not sure what to do next when Aria let out a huge gasp and opened her eyes—the blue color receding back to their normal brown.

 

Caroline went and grabbed some water as Bonnie helped Aria sit up.

 

“Thank you,” she murmured as she took the cup from Caroline and gulped it down. “Give me a minute to get my bearings straight and I’ll let you know what I discovered.”

 

“Do you want some food?” Bonnie asked.

 

Aria shook her head as she continued to catch her breath. A moment later, she slowly got up and made her way back to the table. Once she sat down, she reached over for a scroll and pen. “I’m going to scribe and talk at the same time. After I’m done, you can all ask questions.” She looked around the room before unrolling a blank scroll and began writing.

 

“As I said earlier, the spell I did enabled me to visit other realms or worlds, including the Other Side as you call it and the world of the dead. I entered their world with two questions in mind and the assumption that everything was linked, if there hadn’t been a connection, I would have been informed. The first was _who_ was the mastermind and the second was _why_. I moved through the different worlds while I was in my trance, the only time I ran into resistance was when Bonnie saw me and kept me from entering the Other Side completely. It wasn’t an easy task, getting the answers but be that as it may, I did manage to find a name and possible motive.” Aria paused and set her pen down looking at the group and took a sip of water.

 

“I heard the name, Apep, a few times. For those who aren’t familiar with Ancient Egyptian mythology, Apep was an ancient god known for being the enemy of Ra and for bringing chaos. In a nutshell, Ra was the light while Apep was dark and thought to be evil. There were other names mentioned, but they still carried the same characteristics; a god who enjoyed creating chaos. That is the mastermind.” She lifted her scroll and took Henrik’s paper once again and began drawing a picture on another piece of paper. “This is the Hieroglyph for Apep and you can see the serpent depicted. I can’t say for sure, but perhaps your brother _was_ trying to point you to the right direction.”

 

Rebekah nodded emphatically. “He probably wouldn’t have known Hieroglyphs, would he?” She smiled fondly at the paper. “I’d like to think he was trying to give us a clue.” She looked at Klaus almost anticipating he was going to argue with her.

 

“You were right, little sister,” Klaus replied in their native tongue. “I just didn’t want to get my hopes up.” He returned his attention to Aria once more. “So we have some ancient god of chaos after us? It makes no sense! What would this being want with our family?” If he hadn’t been a thousand year hybrid with a vampire sister sitting with a witch, an Anchor and another vampire, he would have laughed over the revelation of an ancient god-like being. He just couldn’t figure out why.

 

“Since we’re talking about someone who is known to bring chaos, it is highly likely he’s acting on someone’s behalf. It’s another thing Apep is known for; his double dealings—he’ll ally himself with someone eager to serve him but will turn on the subject once he grows bored. I am certain this is what’s happening. The identity of the subject is hidden, no doubt thanks to Apep and his use of magic. As to the motive, like I said, Apep just likes to bring chaos. The subject has the real motive and probably thinks he’s using Apep to fulfill his desire.”

 

“So how do we find the subject? You said he was hidden, so is there a spell or something that can undo it?” Rebekah asked, eager to get to the bottom of the situation. “And more importantly, how do we destroy Apep?”

 

“I’ll answer the last question first since it is the easiest,” Aria replied. “To destroy Apep would upset the balance of nature—chaos and order both must exist. You cannot destroy him so we need to find the subject and destroy them instead. Once the plan is thwarted, Apep will grow bored and move on creating other means to create chaos, such as natural disasters. Only when he finds someone willing to serve him will he enter a new game, so to speak. That’s how he sees his actions—it’s all a game and he will seek to win, one way or another.”

 

“But you said Apep will double-cross the person who made the deal with him in the first place,” Caroline chimed in. “What happens if we left everything alone? Wouldn’t that solve the problem?”

 

“Not necessarily,” Aria explained. “Apep won’t turn tables until near the end, making the subject believe the end game is near. Apep enjoys playing with his pawns too much. If we don’t act now, who knows what the world would look like before Apep destroys _subject X_. There is a possibility it could destroy countless lives before Apep decides to change the game.”

 

Caroline nodded as she imagined towns being destroyed because of some crazy god’s game. What was worse was the idea of someone in the Original family being destroyed. She didn’t want to see another vampire lineage disappear. While it wasn’t entirely certain which sibling sired her own lineage, the . risks were just too great. She looked up and stared at both Klaus and Rebekah for a brief moment, noting their seemingly impassive expressions on their faces. She could see, from the clenched jaw on Klaus, that doing nothing was _not_ an option.

 

“So, _X_ , whoever this person is, has made a deal with Apep or whatever name he goes by,” Bonnie began. “As a result, New Orleans is unbalanced in the supernatural world—we have witches who aren’t able to do magic because they are caught or whatnot, possibly by someone name Davina. Though the Davina issue hasn’t been confirmed yet. We have a supposed supernatural baby and an original vampire who’s no longer acting like he is normally supposed to.” Half way during Bonnie’s summation of the situation, she had gotten up and was pacing around the table in order to get things straight in her head. “Whatever X had been promised, Apep will continue to pay the game but at the end, X will be destroyed because that is what Apep does.” She stopped and looked back at Aria. “Does that seem like the gist of it?”

 

Aria nodded. “That’s pretty much it. I wasn’t able to get anymore information.”

 

“Out of curiosity, how does that work exactly? When you travel through the different worlds. Do you speak to specific people?” Rebekah asked.

 

“Earlier today, when I had you and Klaus write your names onto the paper, my magic was able to help summon the person you both thought of, Henrik. In that case, my magic was used sparingly because you had a contact and I merely helped open the channels to the world of the dead. The second spell, when I was my trance, it was different because there weren’t specific people to contact. As I traveled through the different worlds, it was like I was broadcasting my questions out and getting answers sent back to me. I didn’t see faces or recognize names.”

 

“Like a bat and sonar?” Caroline blurted out and then looked around the table, sheepishly. “Sorry, I learned it in AP Biology last year. I never thought I’d ever use it in a conversation.” Although she muttered the last part, everybody around the table heard her and started laughing, thereby breaking the tension in the room.

 

“I guess that’s a good analogy,” Aria said and smiled. “There’s quite a bit of work ahead of us as we figure out who X is and why he, to coin the phrase, made a deal with the devil.

 

“Perhaps this is a good time to take a break. Surely after your spell, you must need some rest and sustenance,” Klaus suggested. “Should we reconvene in a few hours?”

 

“Yes, thank you.” Aria stretched her arms out and got up from her chair. “Can we meet back at your suite this afternoon, since we’re all staying in that area?”

 

Klaus nodded and looked at his phone for the time. “How about we meet back around four?”

 

Perfect, that will give us some time to come up with ideas as we begin figure out who the mysterious X is.” Aria grabbed a couple pastries and began wrapping them in a napkin.

 

“I’ll go ahead and call the hotel so they can clean up and drop off the rest of the pastries in the suite,” Rebekah murmured. As she was talking to the caterers, Caroline began to pour out the coffee into the sink before moving all the pastries into one tray. She looked over at Klaus with a raised eyebrow and motioned to the empty trays as she took the empty carafes to set outside the roll-up door.

 

Klaus followed with the trays. If it had been any other person or supernatural creature, they would have been threatened within an inch of their lives for such insolent behavior, but for Klaus, it brought back memories of when he saw her getting the Miss Mystic competition set up. She reminded him of a captain at the helm that day and while she wasn’t planning an event at this very moment, she had a similar, focused look in her eyes. As such, he figured it was best to follow her lead.

 

Meanwhile, Bonnie and Aria packed all of the witch’s belongings and were just finishing up when Rebekah ended the phone call.

 

“The caterers will be here within the hour. I told them the outer door is open and we’ll leave the key for them under the trays.” She peered outside the door and quickly rearranged some items before setting the main door key under the serving dishes.

 

“Hey Care, I’m going to help Aria bring some things down. Are you almost ready to go?”

 

“Yeah, let me grab some things,” Caroline replied and moved towards the bedrooms. When she returned with her overnight things, she immediately noticed the surprised look on Rebekah’s face before she turned to glare suspiciously at her brother. Caroline looked down and quickly walked past the siblings and headed down the stairs. She wasn’t ready for Rebekah’s snark right now and just wanted to leave for a few hours. It took her a couple trips to repack her car—making sure she carried just enough to appear human. She also went over to help Aria and Bonnie load the rest of the items into the witch’s car.

 

“We’re going to go to visit a couple nearby college campuses,” Bonnie explained, pushing the trunk shut. “Get some rest and we’ll see you later.”

 

“Okay, thank you, Bonnie. Caroline, I hope you didn’t find it all boring.”

 

The young vampire shook her head. “No, I thought it was really interesting,” she admitted and noticed Klaus and Rebekah heading to their rental car. “We should let you rest.”

 

“Come on, Nik, you can take me to the brothel place where you dined last night,” Rebekah said as she waved to the rest of the group. “We’ll see you all later.”

 

Klaus just looked at the women and walked away with his sister. He caught the look from his sister earlier when Caroline brought her overnight things out. He knew she was going to interrogate him over their lunch and decided to remain silent so not to add more fuel to the fire.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope y’all enjoyed that chapter. It was a big one in setting up the story. 
> 
> The basics of ‘Apep’ is courtesy of Wikipedia. Most of it after he was described as Ra’s enemy is all made up and possibly a mishmash of other myths blended together. I took the idea of looking at Apep’s scheme as a game from the idea of Loki (not of Asgard) who was known to be a mischief maker. I did toy with the idea of using Loki as the god of chaos and mischief but inevitably, I’d end up picturing Tom Hiddleston and that just wouldn’t do in this story since this was supposed to be an unlikeable character. 
> 
> I also gave a hint on Rebekah’s character in this chapter. There was one moment in season 4 when she had a blow up with Klaus—where she was ‘the girl who loved too easily’. I wanted this story to show more than anything was to feel accepted by her brothers, especially Klaus. Whether it was because she was the only sister and they felt like they needed to protect her or whatever reason, she longed for acceptance and love. When she didn’t feel like she got it from her family, she fell for men. 
> 
> Yes, I borrowed the idea from Harry Potter - The Goblet of Fire. 
> 
> Love to hear your thoughts. 
> 
> Thank you! ~sushi


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was determined to post another chapter this month so here you go. It’s a little bit of a filler but I think it helps set the stage up for future chapters. 
> 
> As always, the wonderful hannahperry85 helped pre-read. It’s still currently unbetaed so all mistakes are mine

As soon as they hopped in Caroline’s hatchback, Bonnie grabbed her phone from her purse and switched it on.

 

“Great, Jeremy ditched school again,” she muttered in disappointment and rolled her eyes. “His excuse is it’s Friday.” Bonnie brought her hands up and started to massage her temples. “I shouldn’t even bother visiting campuses for him.”

 

Caroline gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “I’m sorry Bonnie. We can do something else if you want.” She pulled over to the side of the road, ready to change her GPS to wherever her friend wanted to go.

 

“Nah, let’s go look. I mean, since we’re here. I’m sort of curious if a big city college looks like the ones we see in movies.”

 

“Okay, I’m game. We can check out their student center and people watch!” As soon as Bonnie nodded in agreement, Caroline set her GPS to the nearby state university. She eased her car back on the road and headed towards downtown.

 

As soon as they entered Georgia State University, they realized it wasn’t a sprawling campus with old traditional buildings like Whitmore. It was modern and set in the middle of downtown Atlanta. After parking, they quickly found the student center and decided to have their lunch there.

 

“This place is so much bigger than Whitmore!” Caroline exclaimed after leading them to a table that seemed to have good people watching potential. She grabbed her phone and switched it on for the first time since early morning.

 

“I know, it’s like a mall here,” Bonnie quipped, taking in the hustle and bustle of the food court area. Her smile quickly turned into a frown when she saw the upset look on Caroline’s face. “Is it Tyler again? Or the Salvatores?”

 

Caroline shook her head and grimaced. “No, I think we both pissed off Damon and Stefan for the time being. It was Tyler, he’s convinced I’m sleeping with the entire male population at Whitmore. Not like it should matter.” She looked at her friend and nodded before leaning back to stare at the ceiling. “I know, I know!” she exclaimed in exasperation. “I’m planning to talk to him next weekend.”  
  
“I can come with you back to Mystic Falls for moral support.”

 

“Thanks Bonnie, I might take you up on that offer.” She gave a small, appreciative smile at her friend. “So, do you want to talk about Jeremy?”

 

Bonnie started moving her fries around her plate, as she contemplated her friend’s question. “I talked to Aria about it last night, after we left Rebekah. I just wanted… you know… she’s a little older than us and neutral so I wanted her perspective.”

 

“So, what did she say?”

 

“After I told her a little about Jeremy—his background, how he died, stuff like that, she said it sounded as though I was trying _too_ hard to protect him. Or maybe acting out of guilt. She said I needed to be careful because he might start resenting me for smothering him.” She gave a sarcastic chuckle. “It was blunt but it made me think whether or not I was.”

 

“So was that why you reacted that way when you got the message from him today?”

 

“I wanted to text him back and admonish him but reminded myself not to act like a ‘mother hen’. That’s what Aria called it. I can see her point, I mean we’ve all sort of done it in some manner or another, right? His family, his friends… we’ve all tried to protect him some way for quite some time now.”

 

“Yeah, I guess that makes sense. I mean, even Elena got Damon to compel him to leave Mystic Falls at one point. So what do we do? We can’t just abandon him to the wolves, figuratively speaking.”

 

“No, we’re not abandoning him. It’s just like we are with Matt, we let him live his life but we don’t hover over him like we do with Jere. We’ve all treated Jeremy like he’s Elena’s little brother but look at what he’s done—he’s killed both vampires and hybrids, he was a hunter. I just don’t think doing regular things like school really matters for him right now.”

 

“Yeah, I guess that makes sense. I guess we all watch him because we think any minute he’ll just lose his mind or something.”

 

“She said something like that too. Like I said at the mall, I love him, I really do. I just don’t know if this is what we both need right now.” She looked around the food court, noticing there seemed to be more people now and perfect way to change the subject. “Come on, let’s walk around campus a little more.”

 

After putting on their coats and clearing their table of their trash, they headed towards the main, double doors. A huge bulletin board with posters caught their eye and they both decided to look through it to get an idea of the activities at the university.

 

“Look, there’s a movie night event for potential Astronomy PhD students next week!” Bonnie pointed to the bright blue flyer. “And they’re going to be showing ‘Armageddon’!”

 

Caroline giggled, knowing how one summer during their junior high years, Bonnie had a mad crush on Ben Affleck’s character. “I love you Harry!” Caroline teased causing them both to laugh and attract the attention of some college guys walking by.

 

Bonnie gave the guys a small wave before she dragged Caroline out the door. “You’re such a dork!”

 

“I might be a dork but I wasn’t the one who insisted on having animal crackers for my lunch most of that school year!”

 

Bonnie gave a scathing glare at her friend but it served no purpose other than it made Caroline laugh even more. The former witch couldn’t help but get caught up in her friend’s happiness and was giggling soon after. It took a few minutes until they managed to stop and started walking around campus.

 

 

* * *

 

 

_Meanwhile, in another part of the city, Klaus and Rebekah had gone to what the youngest sibling called the ‘brothel building’ for lunch. Both siblings remained silent though much of the ride, mulling over the events of the morning with Aria and what they learned. It wasn’t long before they got to the seemingly deserted street and headed to the building._

 

_Mario was there to greet them—last night’s flirtatious hostess was nowhere to be seen, much to Klaus’ relief. The maître d’ escorted them up to a private dining area this time near a window, with a view of the courtyard below._

 

“Here,” the younger sibling said after Mario left after taking their order. She pushed the piece of paper from this morning over to her brother.

 

“You managed to take this?” Klaus carefully traced the writing with his finger before looking at his sister. His usual stoic mask fell, and his eyes cast a haunted look, similar to the moment he saw his brother, fatally injured from a werewolf.

 

His sister nodded, reaching over to pat his hand gently. It was a rare sign of affection for the siblings and Rebekah quickly withdrew her hand before it became awkward and uncomfortable. “Everybody was distracted whilst I was on the phone,” she said, trying to sound nonchalant. Internally though, she was still distraught from this morning. “Bonnie was busy helping Aria put her things away and you were busy staring at a certain cheerleader.” She sat back in her chair and waited to see if her brother would take the bait, only to frown shortly after when he showed no reaction.

 

“You care for her, don’t you?” she asked, taking any hint of disdain from her voice. She had never seen her brother act without impulse. She _knew_ there had been plenty of times this morning he would have reacted with anger and his normal hostility, threatening the witches or even herself. She even reminded him several times during their flight from New Orleans that finally culminated into a quick, but heated discussion.

 

“ _Need I remind you, that you are also just as impulsive?”_

 

“ _Yes Nik, I am, but I am going to set all that aside until we have answers one way or another. Need I remind_ _you_ _, what’s at stake? Our brother needs our help and we need to put all differences aside to do so,” she scolded and continued glaring at her brother. “If nothing comes about with our meeting with Aria and we don’t get answers, then I won’t stop you from raging.”_

 

Klaus remained silent as he leaned against his chair and stretched his legs out. He stared at his wine goblet for a moment before looking at his sister once more and shrugged. “I don’t see why you’re making a fuss out of this, Rebekah. It’s nothing.” He kept his expression stoic, not wanting to talk about his feelings with his sister.

 

“And that’s why she had what looked like a sleeping bag with her?” She asked but again her brother said nothing. She glared at her brother, her nostrils flaring slightly. “Fine, you don’t have to answer. But if you end up a simpleton like Elijah, I’ll rip her heart out and dagger you.”

 

Normally that type of threat and flippant attitude would have caused Klaus to pop out of his chair and pin his sister against the wall with his hand over her throat crushing her trachea. He could see, while she tried to look angry, she was full of bluster. Besides, he felt she did have a point. _If he were to be with Caroline, would he become as foolish as his brother currently was?_ The thought disturbed him and he tried to remind himself the young, blonde vampire was full of fire—never afraid to show her hostility towards him. He couldn’t imagine her as being meek and clingy at all. No, he was certain he wouldn’t turn into a lovesick fool like his brother but just to be safe, he decided he would make the most of his time by getting to know Caroline Forbes.

 

There was a welcome break when Mario arrived with their dishes. He quickly served them and went on his way.

 

“What are your thoughts on Aria?” he asked, deciding a change in subject was in order.

 

“Her magic is impressive,” she remarked before tasting her pasta primavera.

 

“It was very. I had never seen the eyes change like that before. I’ve seen them turn white, but never that blue color. Did you notice she didn’t use our blood? I wonder if that’s something from her Egyptian lineage.”

 

Rebekah shrugged and placed her fork down. “I’m not sure. Do you think we can trust her? I mean, she did give us a sign to show she was serious about working with us.”

 

“I don’t trust her, but that doesn’t mean she’s not trustworthy,” he admitted, knowing his sister would understand his hesitation. He could see the young witch was willing to help and seemed genuine about it, but he wasn’t willing to drop his guard right away.

 

“Fair enough,” she said. “I hope we’ll come up with answers tonight.”

 

Klaus raised his glass in agreement. “I do too.”

 

* * *

 

Bonnie and Caroline explored almost every building on campus. They visited some lecture halls and thanks to the young vampire’s compulsion, they even got to check out the dorms—just to see how they differed from their big dorm room at Whitmore. Before leaving, they stopped by the admissions office to ask for a college catalogue, Caroline also asked for information about transferring into the school and was given a brochure. They thanked the staff and started walking back to their car.

 

“So why did you ask about transferring?”

 

Caroline shrugged. “Did you ever want to apply elsewhere, other than Whitmore?”

 

“Yeah, but this was something the three of us had sort of planned so there was no point. Of course, now she isn’t even here.” The former witch shook her head. She reminded herself how they both encouraged the doppelganger to take time for herself given everything that happened the past few years. “You’re not thinking of leaving too, are you?”

 

“What?! No! I’m just thinking maybe we should both look into going to school elsewhere. We don’t have to stay near Mystic Falls, do we? You know, given our recent talks about guys and all?”

 

“There was something else Aria and I talked about last night,” Bonnie began, almost whispering. “She reminded me about something else.” Caroline quirked her eyebrow, encouraging Bonnie to continue. “She said as an Anchor, my mortality is basically like yours. I can live a long, long time if I wanted to, until I am ready and able to find a replacement.”

 

“And?” Although she knew her friend was no longer a witch, it was still a new idea to think of Bonnie as being immortal, or close to it.

 

“Well she wanted me to know and to let you know as well since we’re both pretty new at this, that our timeline doesn’t need to be linear like a normal human. We could start and stop anytime we want—take a class, then do some traveling… things like that.  
  


She looked over at Bonnie with a look of concern on her face. “Does that bother you that you’re not truly human anymore?”

 

“Up until she mentioned it, I hadn’t really put much thought into my mortality, to be honest. Then after what we discovered this morning, well…” Her thoughts drifted away causing Caroline to stop.

 

“What?” She asked and motioned to a nearby bench.

 

“Well, I just have a funny feeling, with Apep or whatever his name is, and the fact that New Orleans is the center of the activity, can you guess where I might end up going? I don’t know how big or even how things are tied together but Aria will need to be there as a witch, and if she needs to do that ancient magic of hers, she’ll probably need me there.”

 

Caroline stared out onto the campus grounds as she absorbed what Bonnie just said. “It makes sense,” she replied. _Would she stay at Whitmore knowing Bonnie was several states away helping Aria?_ If Elena was still here, that might have been a possibility. She didn’t want to remain in Mystic Falls on her own, going to classes like everything was normal. She decided to stay quiet about her decision though. She wanted to wait until tonight and learn a little more about the craziness before making any announcements and rash decisions. “So we take forever to get a degree or something?”

 

“She didn’t put it quite like that. She just wanted me to realize putting human timelines and schedules is artificial now. For me and for you, our time is more limitless and we don’t need to cram our exams and stuff if we don’t want to. We can still achieve our human goals but we now work on a different timeline.”

 

For Caroline, the words brought back memories of her first real interaction with Klaus. _“You have to adjust your perception of time when you’re a vampire, Caroline. Celebrate the fact that you’re no longer bound by trivial human conventions.”_ At the time, the words never had any meaning to her—she was in extreme pain from Tyler’s bite and she saw Klaus as the bad guy; nothing more.

 

Caroline couldn’t help but think back on her so-called confession to Klaus and how she had tried to use that human timeline to keep him, and her feelings at bay. _“I’m in college. I’m building a life for myself. I have plans and a future; things that I want and none of those things involve you…”_ She knew Bonnie had made an excellent point about being practically immortal and it was something she had been pondering on her own for quite some time; especially after seeing Klaus that afternoon. If she _were_ to pursue something with Klaus, would she still be able to experience human things and spend time with her human loved ones?

 

She moved closer to Bonnie and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. Now knowing that one of her oldest friends was having to deal with the same, helped. She had someone who was able to relate to her and she could talk to on a regular basis.

 

“So how does Aria know all this? Is she immortal too?”

 

The brunette laughed at her friend’s comment. “I asked her the same thing. She is very much human but her spirit isn’t.”

 

“What? Like a doppelganger?” Caroline couldn’t help but add, “Please don’t be another one,” in her mind. In her short life, she had met too many.

 

“No, nothing like that, thank god,” Bonnie muttered and immediately looked at her friend, hoping she wasn’t offended by her offhanded remark. She smiled, relieved when Caroline nodded in agreement. “She was born with Aria’s spirit—her parents knew immediately when she was born.”

 

“Like a birthmark or—” Caroline looked over at Bonnie with her eyes wide in shock. Her hand gripped the arm of her friend’s jacket. “Her eyes! Do you think that is Aria the priestess? When they turn blue?”

 

“You know, you might be right,” Bonnie replied, thinking back to this morning and Aria’s trance. “When she appeared in front of me as though she was going to the other side, her eyes were her normal brown. If the spirit of the Egyptian priestess is immortal, it wouldn’t have gone to the Other Side, would it?”

 

“In theory that makes a lot of sense.” Caroline’s phone started to buzz and she reached into her bag to check her phone, noticing her alarm had gone off. “Hey, we should probably start heading back. The meeting is less than a couple hours and I don’t want to rush over there.”

 

“Yeah, we could since traffic here is a lot busier than Mystic Falls. This was fun, Care. I’m glad you decided to come on this trip.”

 

“I’m glad I’m here too and we had a chance to talk about stuff.”

 

“So what is this about a restaurant in a brothel?” Bonnie asked as soon as Caroline got the car in gear.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed that. I hope to update again soon. I’m trying to update every time I finish a new chapter except I’m nearly done with the one I’m working on currently. 
> 
> Thanks again! Love to hear from you!
> 
> XO~ sushi


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I totally suck at updating and real life is a pain in the ass right now but here you go. I think it’s a pretty important chapter so I’ll keep the note short.
> 
> The characters belong to their respective TV shows and books. I only own the mistakes. 
> 
> See you at the bottom.

Klaus was waiting at the hotel lobby when Bonnie and Caroline arrived, having gotten the text message from the blonde several minutes ago. Bonnie was carrying a backpack with her laptop and Caroline had a plastic shopping bag along with her purse.

 

“Rebekah will be here shortly,” Klaus said after giving them both a nod. “I believe she’s asked to borrow Aria’s personal chef and is creating a menu for tonight.” He led them to the hotel lobby, his hand brushing against Caroline’s skin when he reached over to swipe his key card; allowing him access to the floor of the suite.

 

The ride up the elevator was silent. Caroline wasn’t sure what to say so she kept her gaze down, letting her blonde hair create a veil over her face. It allowed her to take stealthy glances over at Klaus who was looking relatively relaxed in a pair of faded black jeans and a long sleeve tee that accentuated his lean physique.

 

“So how was your lunch?” Caroline asked, in an attempt to break the ice. The silence was beginning to be deafening for her and she _needed_ to say something.

 

“The food was wonderful as always,” Klaus replied. “Of course, the company wasn’t as pleasant as last night.”

 

Caroline’s eyes widened at his words and she immediately turned to look at Bonnie who looked like she was biting the inside of her mouth to keep from laughing. She was blushing not just at his words, but the fact that they weren’t alone. She quickly turned away from her friend and once again paid attention to the floor.

 

For Bonnie, watching one of her best friends interact with the big, bad hybrid was interesting. It wasn’t Klaus’ flirting; she was certain he had enough charm when he wanted something. No, it was the way they looked at each other when they were at the abandoned building. It was the way they were close to each other without touching right now. She had seen the look in his eyes whenever he looked at Caroline—it wasn’t a casual interest, it seemed to be more than that. And then her friend’s reaction, the way she was blushing and avoiding his eyes—she looked almost shy. This wasn’t the same Caroline that was used as a distraction for Klaus in the past. _Oh my god!_ It was Bonnie’s turn to look at the floor as she started to dig her nails into the palms of her hands. She hoped the revelation didn’t cause her heart to change beats and began forcing herself to breathe normally. She tried not to look at either of them as she realized her friend was falling for Klaus, though she wasn’t sure if Caroline had realized it yet.

 

Luckily, the elevator slowed to a stop and opened its doors. Klaus led the two of them into the suite and immediately, Bonnie went to the dining table to set up, grateful that she didn’t give the two vampires a clue in what she discovered. Or, they were just too lost in their world to notice. Either way, the former witch was relieved to be out of the small, enclosed elevator and in the spacious hotel suite.

 

Caroline froze in the middle of the room as she took in the luxuriousness of the decor, the high ceiling and the velvet-covered furniture. “Wow, this is beautiful.”

 

Klaus chuckled at her reaction and moved closer to the young blonde. “This brand’s hotel in Paris has a penthouse suite that offers views of the Eiffel Tower and a little garden eating area.”

 

Caroline couldn’t help but shake her head and laugh. His words took her back to the night of the Mikaelson’s ball and how he tried to convince her to see the world with him. “What? You don’t have your own place in Paris?” she teased with her eyes wide in shock.

 

Klaus chuckled and shook his head at her audacity. “As a matter of fact, I do have a small flat. It’s fairly modest compared to this room but it has large windows with great views. Sadly, I haven’t visited it in years though.”

 

Caroline suddenly imagined him painting next to an open window, his clothes splattered with paint. Since she had never been to the city, she imagined the apartment having a view of the Eiffel Tower and a view of the zinc covered rooftops. She would have pictured more but the chime from Bonnie’s computer made her realize they weren’t alone and there was a task at hand. She looked up and gave him a small smile before moving over to the dining area where Bonnie was setting her study area. Before reaching the dining area, she set her purse down and moved to remove her jacket, draping it over a chair, on top of Bonnie’s things. Once she sat down, she took her plastic shopping bag and brought out a couple notebooks and a set of pens.

 

Klaus stood there watching with curiosity as the blonde moved everything around as though it had a specific place. Bonnie caught him looking at her and shook her head. “This is what she does to take notes when she’s not using her laptop. She has one notebook for taking what she calls “raw notes” and then another to organize them with color.”

 

“Shut up, Bonnie,” she mumbled.

 

Bonnie just chuckled along with Klaus causing Caroline to look up and glare at her friend. She said nothing as she looked inside her shopping bag and pulled something out with vampire speed. There was a quick sound of cardboard tearing and then something was thrown towards Bonnie.

 

“Hey!” she exclaimed indignantly and looked down at her lap, spotting the cookie in the shape of a camel. “You got me animal crackers?!”

 

The blonde said nothing and placed the box in front of the brunette causing Klaus to laugh at the antics of the two. It sort of reminded him of how he used to play and tease his younger siblings when they were human and more naïve of the world. It was different, almost disturbing, to see the former witch tease her friend like that. He _wanted_ to dislike her but now seeing how close those two were, he could tell, hurting the brunette would in turn, hurt Caroline. He walked back to the main area of the room and out to the balcony, staring at the Atlanta skyline. It hadn’t really occurred to him, until just now, how much influence the young blonde vampire had over him.

A year ago, or even a few months ago, he wouldn’t hesitate in thinking about destroying the, now former, Bennett witch and he would have enjoyed every minute of it. The thought would have been even better than that night he killed the doppelganger in order to break his curse. But now, things were different. He _knew_ he wasn’t going soft—the idea of killing still thrilled him like nothing else, but now, it felt more calculated. After all, how many times had he contemplated killing Marcel, but hadn’t? It was just like he said to Caroline last night—how he wanted to be better even though he knew he’d never be completely _good_. As he sauntered back into the main part of the suite, he decided to accept things for what they were for now and perhaps when Elijah was more himself, he could talk to his older brother and gain some advice.

 

“Sorry, we’re late, Nik,” Rebekah announced from the front door with Aria behind her. “I was about to come back but then Aria sent me a text so I waited for her so we could come back here together.”

 

“Everybody’s here,” Klaus said and gestured to the main dining area. “They brought up some pitchers of water before Caroline and Bonnie arrived.”

 

“So this evening’s purpose is to go over each of the different issues in New Orleans and look for theories and solutions.” The witch sat down next to Bonnie, setting a couple scrolls onto the table next to her set of grimoires. “I brought the scrolls for references if we need them. Everybody has a chance to give their ideas, ask questions, and we’ll list them all. After, we’ll analyze any theories to see if they make sense and if they’re plausible.”

 

Both siblings sat down without a word, seemingly in agreement with the witch’s idea. Caroline opened up one of her notebooks while Bonnie got her laptop ready.

 

“So what should we look at first?” Klaus asked.

 

“We can start with something relatively easy at first, if you’d like. For example, we could start with this baby and then we’ll move onto some tougher subjects,” Aria suggested. “There’s no set agenda on what you want to begin with, what I’m hoping is we can put our minds together and figure something out.” She looked around the room to see if there were any suggestions but everybody seemed to be looking at her to start. “I went and spoke to maman after I got home and took a nap. I asked when she was coming back to the States and she said next month. She had no specific time because she’s already done with her latest medical mission and was just relaxing.” She looked over to Klaus before reaching into her bag for a sealed vial. “She suggested that we begin with DNA testing, for concrete proof that you’re not the father. Normally a blood test would be the simplest but the vampire and werewolf genes might skew the test so to make it easier, can you provide a strand of your hair? It needs to include the root.”

 

Klaus took the vial and stared at it before reaching up and pulling a strand out. “You know, in my day, this was completely unheard of. I suppose I should have insisted upon something like this instead of relying on the word of a witch and my brother.” He sealed the vial and rolled it back over to Aria. “This isn’t going to reveal any supernatural secrets is it?”

 

“The strand test is the safest for your situation and only I will know your identity. I told maman that you’re a friend from college. That’s all she has to know. They will only look at specific genetic codes and then match them up with the fetus’ to see if there will be common denominators. This is more a technicality, we know it is nearly improbable that you’re the father of this child, but this will give scientific proof to show we’re not solely relying on magic.”

 

“Um, we don’t have anything from the baby yet,” Rebekah reminded Aria.

 

“Oh, maman and I will be making a visit to New Orleans. She’s a licensed MD so she can examine the girl,” Aria replied cheerfully. “We need to discover _why_ in terms of the baby.”

 

“Well, a supernatural being having a baby is pretty chaotic, isn’t?” Caroline asked.

 

“It is, Caroline,” Aria replied. “The problem is, the supposed benefactor, the mysterious X, also needs a motive to involve the Mikaelsons and possibly this Hayley girl.” She watched as the blonde took out some colored markers and added notes to what she just wrote. “Apep, while he likes chaos, he’s more precise, especially when he’s playing these so-called games of his. Everything has a reason and it should, if everything is interrelated, link together based on the benefactor’s motives, however complex it is. Are there any other questions about anything?”

 

Caroline raised a pen after jotting down some notes and Aria nodded for her to speak. “Is ancestral magic infinite? Or does it go away like Bonnie’s did when she angered witches?”

 

“Their magic comes from their ancestors and that’s why the spells are confined in the cemeteries. The way those witches work, is all their ancestors help them with their spell. The more ancestors are buried at that particular cemetery, the more power they can draw from it. As long as the bodies remain undisturbed, the power is there. The problem is, sometime recently, their magic was either taken away from them or somehow, it was tamped down. They’re likely not to reveal facts about their plight because in doing so, it will show their weakness; even if either Bonnie or I were to ask.”

 

“Would the destruction of these tombs interfere with the magic? Like the floods after the hurricanes?” Rebekah asked.

 

“The witches could have been affected by the flooding. If, for example the cemeteries were destroyed or the tombs disturbed. Do we know for certain that was when their powers diminished?” Bonnie replied.

 

“I suppose we’ll have to determine that for sure,” Rebekah replied.

 

“For Apep to play this game, wouldn’t that mean someone would have made a deal at that very moment?” Klaus asked. He was certain Marcel was the mysterious X. According to his former protégé, he had been king for a while, most likely long before the two hurricanes struck New Orleans. Why then did he pick _that_ moment to start this game?

 

Aria shook her head. “Once Apep has someone who is willing to make a deal, he’ll wait for the most opportune time to start. He won’t, for example, create a blizzard in the middle of July in New Orleans even though it’s chaotic. I’m not completely certain as to when those witches lost much of their power but you can find out, Bonnie if you want to channel your Grams here. I can help you.”

 

Bonnie looked around the room and nodded. “Yeah, just like we did at the park?” She saw Aria nodding out of the corner of her eye and she relaxed as she concentrated on seeing Grams.

 

The three vampires watched silently as Aria started to chant. It wasn’t long before Bonnie’s eyes opened and she turned to stare at the wall.

 

“Hi Grams,” Bonnie whispered, her eyes growing glassy from the tears.

 

“Hello Bonnie,” Grams whispered fondly. “I see you’re with Aria and Caroline along with a couple of the Original siblings.”

 

“Yes Grams, we’re all looking for answers. Can you help us?”

 

“I suppose it depends on what you’re asking?”

 

“The New Orleans witches, do you know when they lost their power or their powers changed?”

 

Grams turned her head away from her granddaughter as though looking for answers from the beings on the Other Side. It took a couple minutes before she once again faced Bonnie. “They’re telling me it started around the time of the first hurricane and by late fall, they couldn’t do more than simple spells without getting caught.”

 

“Thanks Grams. Is there anything else I should know?”

 

“That’s all I have, my child, just continue working together. I have to go now.”

 

“I love you Grams.”

 

A few seconds later, Bonnie was wiping tears from her eyes before turning back to the table. She repeated everything that Grams told her and watched as Caroline made a note of it, using her red marker—a code Bonnie knew meant it was determined to be a fact.

 

“See! There has to be a link between that Davina girl and this so-called weapon of Marcels!” Rebekah exclaimed.

 

“But if this Davina girl is the same one that’s been declared missing during that time, she’s not a known witch,” Bonnie replied.

 

Caroline had brought up her pen and was nibbling on the cap. She looked at her notes and wanted to agree with the Original sister, there _had_ to be a link. “What happens if a regular human, not a witch, inherited all the power?” she asked, believing what she just asked was pretty far fetched.

 

“I know when I had too much power, I couldn’t control myself,” Bonnie remarked. “I suppose it would be much worse if someone was sort of thrown into not only that situation, but our world.”

 

“Armageddon,” Caroline whispered as she grabbed Bonnie’s box of animal crackers. She looked up at the table and saw all eyes were staring at her with confusion.

“Armaggedon!” She repeated, excitedly. “What if this Davina girl was not a witch but some random human and who inherited all these witches’ powers. The witches thought they were losing them to the flood and stuff but in actuality, they were channelled into one person. Wouldn’t that person start to lose control and eventually implode?” Once she was done with her theory, she scribbled it down, as a means of avoiding more strange looks from the table. “In the movie, that’s what happened in one scene, there was too much pressure from the earth and almost caused a disaster in an oil rig.” She muttered the last part as she tried to explain the correlation between her theory about the witches and the movie. Caroline didn’t even bother to look up to see if the rest of the group followed. _Aria did say it was okay to throw theories out, no matter how outrageous, didn’t she?_

 

“Shit, Care, that kinda makes sense.” Bonnie looked over at Rebekah. “It sort of ties in with your theory of that Davina girl and the power you felt from her. If she has most of the power from the ancestral witches and doesn’t know exactly how to control it or even what it is, then she’s basically a walking timebomb. Someone must know this and is therefore keeping her safe.”

 

“So what how do we find her? What happens if we can’t get to her before she, as Caroline put it, imploded?” Klaus asked. Again, his thoughts were centered around Marcel as the culprit. He couldn’t wait to get his hands around he vampire he once considered family.

 

“Once I’m in New Orleans, I can use my magic to look for the high concentration of ancestral power. It should be like a beacon.”

 

“That would notify Marcel and you could be punished!” Klaus exclaimed. While he didn’t trust the witch, he didn’t want her to die because of Marcel’s rules—especially if there was a chance to solve the mysteries.

 

Aria shook her head. “The ancient magic will go virtually undetected. The signal it gives off will be low and insignificant—like a spell to levitate feathers.” She smiled at Caroline and reached her hand out for a high five. “That was really good, thank you! The three of us were stuck over the fact that she wasn’t a witch. As far as her building power, it is safe to say if it does get unleashed, the ancestral magic will die, along with the girl. She’s the perfect subject too, having gone missing during the disaster and presumed dead, she’s virtually nonexistent.”

 

“What about our brother, Elijah?” Rebekah asked. “Why is he acting so strange as of late? Is it part of this Apep’s game?”

 

“Can you describe some of his behavior?” Aria asked. “Specifics would be helpful and how he normally behaves would be good too.”

 

Klaus reached over and tapped his sister’s hand, signaling he wanted to start. “Elijah is known to be the moral one of the family. That isn’t to say, he’s above violence, though. Over the centuries, we didn’t see eye to eye but he was the most grounded of us all. When I arrived in New Orleans months ago, he arrived shortly after. He was there when the witches announced I was to become a father.” As much as he wanted to keep his emotions at bay, he couldn’t seem to get the bitterness out of his voice. That entire meeting irritated him and he wanted nothing to do with it then and certainly not now. “He was the one who tried to convince me to accept the miracle of having a child and therefore an heir. Soon after, just before Rebekah returned, he began to act differently—doting over the girl like a lovesick fool.”

 

Rebekah was nodding emphatically and immediately jumped in when her brother gave a pause. “What my brother forgot to mention was over the centuries, he pursued a woman, Katerina Petrova, also known as Katherine Pierce. She was a doppelganger who turned human when she was given Silas’ cure.” Her nostrils flared at the mention of the crazed witch who wreaked havoc in Mystic Falls before last summer. “As a side effect from it, her body deteriorated rapidly and she recently died. When Nik mentioned her impending death, Elijah showed no emotion over the very woman he chased after for over 500 years!” The blonde Original flipped her hair back with frustration. “Instead of coming with us or even showing a sign of mourning, he just doted over the pregnant girl as though he was the father.”

 

“You never attempted to create some sort of friendship with… Hayley?” Caroline asked, trying to sound indifferent but saying _that_ girl’s name was hard. She was trying to be objective though. _Wasn’t that what her mom did when she questioned suspects?_

 

Klaus shook his head. “Not really.” He looked straight at Caroline. “She meant nothing to me. Sure, I was polite, only because Elijah and Rebekah were lecturing me to.” He looked over at his sister. “Rebekah tried to make her feel welcome at first. Eventually, she stopped when our brother became more enamored with her than with his existing family.”

 

“Not only did Elijah become enamored with her, she started to follow him around like a lost puppy,” Rebekah added before looking at the rest of the table. “The pun was a little intentional.”

 

The Original vampire’s remark caused the table to laugh and chuckle for a few moments before Bonnie motioned to look at Caroline’s notes.

 

“Do you think he’s spelled?” Bonnie asked, addressing the table. She slid the writing tablet back to her friend so she could continue taking documenting the meeting.

 

“It’s a possibility,” Aria replied. “Why Elijah and why not Klaus? It would make more sense, right?”

 

“Is it imprinting? Like Twilight? Does that really happen?” Caroline asked. “I mean, she’s a wolf, right?”

 

“As far as I know, that doesn’t occur with werewolves, but I’ll defer my answer to Klaus since he’s got the werewolf gene.”

 

“I only know what you’re talking about because Rebekah saw parts of that movie but no, that doesn’t exist in the real world,” Klaus answered with a chuckle. “As to why it’s my brother and not me, I haven’t a clue. I know we’ve all picked up enemies over the centuries but I am willing to bet I have more than he does since I’m far less patient.”

 

Caroline wrote the word ‘enemies’ on her notebook and started at it for a while before taking another colored pen and putting a box around it. She shut her eyes and thought back to the times when Klaus and the rest of the Mikaelsons were considered enemies. “Klaus, what if you were supposed to have been the one who became the lovesick one, over her? What if _you_ were supposed to be the one that is doing what Elijah’s doing now? Would that cause strife in your family?”

 

“I suppose it would,” Klaus replied slowly and cautiously, not knowing where this conversation was headed. _Was she still upset over the whole baby issue? Especially knowing that the chances of him actually have conceived a child was practically nil?_ “Since it is currently causing a ruckus now.”

 

“You’re less even keeled than your brother,” Bonnie began and received a scathing glare from Klaus. “So theoretically,” the former witch continued, ignoring Klaus, “if you had been the one who had fallen for Hayley, you would probably be more volatile, am I correct?”

 

Rebekah nodded and received a stern look from her brother. “What? You _know_ you would be Nik.” She was about to say more when she heard the sound of a serving trolley coming down the hotel corridor. She checked her time and looked at the table. “I’ve ordered some food to be delivered. We can get back to this after the staff leaves.”

 

Caroline and Klaus moved the grimoires under the table as Rebekah went to answer the knock on the door. When the catering staff entered the room, they quickly and quietly set the room up for their dinner. It didn’t take long before they left and Rebekah walked with them, making sure to compel them to forget any conversation and anything unusual before they left the suite.

 

The dining room looked like a fancy buffet and they each grabbed some different items before sitting down. Caroline brought her notebooks back out and was studying her notes, hoping to find something to link the events together.

 

“Hey Aria, can I ask you something?” Bonnie began after she sat down with a plate full of food.

 

“Sure, what’s on your mind?”

 

“Umm, can I ask about your trance this morning?” She turned away from the table and tried to gesture towards her eye without the rest of the group noticing.

 

Aria smiled and nodded before looking at the vampires. “You’re all wondering about the change in eye color aren’t you?” Everybody stopped and looked at her not knowing what to say. “It’s okay,” the witch said with a laugh. “I’m fine talking about it. Since I was a child, my parents always told me that the moment my eyes first opened, my father saw it and that’s why I was named for the Egyptian priestess. It’s said, upon her death, Aria sent her soul into the wind, promising to return upon the earth when the gods called upon her. She was said to have blue eyes so I have to believe my ancient ancestor is here to help me whenever I need it, which is usually when more complex spells are used.” She looked around the room, expecting skepticism and maybe even shock so she added jokingly, “I know, it’s pretty wild, right?”

 

“If I didn’t live in Mystic Falls and have friends who were vampires, I’d probably think it is,” Bonnie replied with a friendly smile.

 

“I don’t think any of us can judge,” Caroline said. “Just the fact that we’re all here and not killing each other is a feat in itself.”

 

“I’ll drink to that,” Rebekah quipped, holding a wine glass in her hand. “Can we eat and discuss all of this? I’ve been trying to make sense of it all but don’t understand what it means.”

 

“I’m fine if we worked and talked about the incidents,” the witch replied. “That is, if nobody else minds.”

 

There was no objection, so their relaxing dinner became a working one, everybody more than eager to continue. Aria went over what they had learned so far with Elijah and added Caroline’s theory that Klaus was supposed to have been the one falling for Hayley.

 

Despite the fact that they were talking about one of his worst indiscretions, Klaus couldn’t help but feel almost a sense of pride as he watched Caroline take notes. He could tell just how serious she was when she wrote furiously into one notebook before transferring the information into the other using a system of colored pens and highlighters. He knew she was an intelligent young woman, but he also knew the motley group of friends back at Mystic Falls sometimes neglected to see that she was more than just a pretty face.

 

“The only thing I can think of as a reason is to divide and conquer,” Bonnie replied and gave the Original siblings an apologetic smile. “Only because we attempted to do that before with you. This is obviously more complex and was most likely supposed to cause ripples in your family.”

 

“But what is the purpose for —” Klaus began.

 

“No!” Caroline gasped as she looked at her notes again. Her pen went from the word ‘enemy’ to ‘divide and conquer’ and finally to ‘family’ before she looked back up to the table. “I think the purpose would be to destroy you all.” She pointed to each of the words again. “This is a huge distraction on your family right? If you all went your separate ways because of it, you’re left more vulnerable, making it easier to destroy you and in doing so—”

 

“In doing so, destroy our kind,” Rebekah finished the thought.

 

The room was silent as they took in the news. Each one of them knew, whoever this X person was, they were dangerous.

 

“So if this is actually one person or one faction, they have the means to destroy witches and now vampires,” Klaus began quietly a moment later. “I was certain it was Marcel but I’m not so sure.”

 

“If it had been Marcel and he had been ruling New Orleans for so long, he wouldn’t have wanted you back though, right?” Caroline asked. “I don’t think he’s entirely innocent but I don’t think he’s X.”

 

“I think she has a point,” Rebekah replied. “X is evil and manipulative. I think he probably has Marcel in his pocket, using him as a pawn. It wouldn’t make sense to have you remain in New Orleans, knowing Elijah and I weren’t far behind. The witch, Sophie has tied her life to the baby, right? And if you’re supposed to be in love and busy playing baby daddy, you’d never have an excuse _not_ to leave New Orleans, at least, in the immediate future. That idea alone is enough to cause Marcel grief.”

 

Klaus thought about what both Caroline and his sister have said so far and it made sense. If Marcel didn’t want the threat of being overthrown, there wouldn’t be a reason for having the witch bind herself to the baby. Or even better, there was no need to bring him to New Orleans to know about the baby.   
  
“Katerina left me a note about something happening in New Orleans. Was she a part of the scheme too?” He wanted to go find where she was buried and just tear her bones apart, scattering them in different areas around the globe.

 

“This is the same Katerina that your brother was involved with? The doppelganger?” Aria asked and Klaus nodded. “It sounds like she was talked into being nothing more than a pawn.”

 

“What we didn’t tell you was for all the centuries she was alive, Katerina ran from my brother,” Rebekah explained. “She was to have been the sacrifice he needed to break his hybrid curse, but before the witch he recruited could do the spell, she had turned to a vampire. Since Nik’s search for Katerina was never something he hid, it probably wouldn’t have taken much to talk her into agreeing with the plan.”

 

“I’m sure it didn’t take much to convince her. Just the idea she could distract or even destroy me would have been incentive enough.”

 

Caroline suddenly got up and took her notebooks before walking into the living room. Bonnie noticed the tense look in her friend’s face and continued to take notes of her own on her laptop. She noticed Klaus was about to say something so she held her hand up. “She’s trying to concentrate,” she whispered. “Usually she’ll do this when she’s got an idea brewing in her head but she’s not able to put it into words yet. This is her way of creating the space she needs.”

 

The young, blonde vampire was beginning to pace around the room as she tried to find some clarity in her thoughts. Something seemed to be missing with the story and at the moment, she wasn’t sure what it was other than it had to do with... the baby. She stopped and turned back towards the table. “Why is the baby so important? I mean, it wouldn’t have taken much to do some sort of love potion spell would it? There’s something about the baby even though it isn’t his.” She slowly walked back to the table and sat down, rubbing her temples as if it could help her make sense of it all.

 

“This may sound like a complete Greek tragedy but what if the child grows up and ends up killing the father or his siblings?” Aria asked.

 

“Oh, that’s good,” Caroline whispered and wrote that down before realizing what she said. She looked up and started blushing profusely when she realized all eyes were on her. “Oh, I mean, it’s a good theory.” She looked back down, trying not to react especially having seen Klaus smirking at her. “Who would want their child to destroy their own father like that though?”

 

Klaus’ smirk fell immediately and he slowly rose from the table. He leaned over and looked at Aria intently. “Can this mysterious X be someone supernatural or even better, can they be dead?”

 

“Apep was known as a god so he’d be able to travel through all worlds. Do you have an idea?”

 

Klaus said nothing as he turned and walked out to the nearest balcony. Once he was outside, he was drawing in the cold night air as though he was lacking oxygen. _Could it be? Just when his siblings thought they were safe?_

 

He stood there, grabbing a hold of the metal railing as he stared up at the sky. He didn’t want to believe _who_ was possibly behind it. He could be wrong and by all the gods, he hoped he was wrong. Klaus took one more breath before pushing himself off the railing and headed back to the group huddled around the dining table. He felt their eyes on him as he sat down, not yet facing them.

 

He slowly looked up and whispered one word, “Mikael.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So my first thought when I finished this chapter was BOOM! And it was almost funny that I had this storyline before the ending of season 1 of The Originals. 
> 
> I figured the DNA testing by using a strand of hair was the best method without drawing too much attention to blood and how it may or may not look different under a scope. Needless to say, I’m not a doctor nor do I play one on TV.
> 
> Thank you all. I am really sorry that my updates are slow. 
> 
> XO sushi


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Peeks in: 
> 
> I’m still in the midst of some crazy writers block but I wanted to post this chapter. Real life has been crazy and then I completely lost my mojo. I get snippets of ideas once in awhile but nothing like it used to be. It does not help when TO and TVD have completely deviated from this ship. 
> 
> Anywhoo, I’m not sure when I’ll update again. I don’t want to abandon the story at all. I do have a handful of chapter prewritten but I’m hanging onto them in case of future changes. 
> 
> For this chapter, I made my flashback a little longer just because it has taken me forever and a day to post an update. 
> 
> There is some violence in this chapter. Be warned, it’s a bit gory.

_[Flashback]_

_There was no objection, so their relaxing dinner became a working one, everybody more than eager to continue. Aria went over what they had learned so far with Elijah and added Caroline’s theory that Klaus was supposed to have been the one falling for Hayley._

 

_Despite the fact that they were talking about one of his worst indiscretions, Klaus couldn’t help but feel almost a sense of pride as he watched Caroline take notes. He could tell just how serious she was when she wrote furiously into one notebook before transferring the information into the other using a system of colored pens and highlighters. He knew she was an intelligent young woman, but he also knew the motley group of friends back at Mystic Falls sometimes neglected to see that she was more than just a pretty face._

 

“ _The only thing I can think of as a reason is to divide and conquer,” Bonnie replied and gave the Original siblings an apologetic smile. “Only because we attempted to do that before with you. This is obviously more complex and was most likely supposed to cause ripples in your family.”_

 

“ _But what is the purpose for —” Klaus began._

 

“ _No!” Caroline gasped as she looked at her notes again. Her pen went from the word ‘enemy’ to ‘divide and conquer’ and finally to ‘family’ before she looked back up to the table. “I think the purpose would be to destroy you all.” She pointed to each of the words again. “This is a huge distraction on your family right? If you all went your separate ways because of it, you’re left more vulnerable, making it easier to destroy you and in doing so—”_

 

“ _In doing so, destroy our kind,” Rebekah finished the thought._

 

_The room was silent as they took in the news. Each one of them knew, whoever this X person was, they were dangerous._

 

“ _So if this is actually one person or one faction, they have the means to destroy witches and now vampires,” Klaus began quietly a moment later. “I was certain it was Marcel but I’m not so sure.”_

 

“ _If it had been Marcel and he had been ruling New Orleans for so long, he wouldn’t have wanted you back though, right?” Caroline asked. “I don’t think he’s entirely innocent but I don’t think he’s X.”_

 

“ _I think she has a point,” Rebekah replied. “X is evil and manipulative. I think he probably has Marcel in his pocket, using him as a pawn. It wouldn’t make sense to have you remain in New Orleans, knowing Elijah and I weren’t far behind. The witch, Sophie has tied her life to the baby, right? And if you’re supposed to be in love and busy playing baby daddy, you’d never have an excuse not to leave New Orleans, at least, in the immediate future. That idea alone is enough to cause Marcel grief.”_

 

_Klaus thought about what both Caroline and his sister have said so far and it made sense. If Marcel didn’t want the threat of being overthrown, there wouldn’t be a reason for having the witch bind herself to the baby. Or even better, there was no need to bring him to New Orleans to know about the baby._  
_  
_ _“Katerina left me a note about something happening in New Orleans. Was she a part of the scheme too?” He wanted to go find where she was buried and just tear her bones apart, scattering them in different areas around the globe._

 

“ _This is the same Katerina that your brother was involved with? The doppelganger?” Aria asked and Klaus nodded. “It sounds like she was talked into being nothing more than a pawn.”_

 

“ _What we didn’t tell you was for all the centuries she was alive, Katerina ran from my brother,” Rebekah explained. “She was to have been the sacrifice he needed to break his hybrid curse, but before the witch he recruited could do the spell, she had turned to a vampire. Since Nik’s search for Katerina was never something he hid, it probably wouldn’t have taken much to talk her into agreeing with the plan.”_

 

“ _I’m sure it didn’t take much to convince her. Just the idea she could distract or even destroy me would have been incentive enough.”_

 

_Caroline suddenly got up and took her notebooks before walking into the living room. Bonnie noticed the tense look in her friend’s face and continued to take notes of her own on her laptop. She noticed Klaus was about to say something so she held her hand up. “She’s trying to concentrate,” she whispered. “Usually she’ll do this when she’s got an idea brewing in her head but she’s not able to put it into words yet. This is her way of creating the space she needs.”_

 

_The young, blonde vampire was beginning to pace around the room as she tried to find some clarity in her thoughts. Something seemed to be missing with the story and at the moment, she wasn’t sure what it was other than it had to do with... the baby. She stopped and turned back towards the table. “Why is the baby so important? I mean, it wouldn’t have taken much to do some sort of love potion spell would it? There’s something about the baby even though it isn’t his.” She slowly walked back to the table and sat down, rubbing her temples as if it could help her make sense of it all._

 

“ _This may sound like a complete Greek tragedy but what if the child grows up and ends up killing the father or his siblings?” Aria asked._

 

“ _Oh, that’s good,” Caroline whispered and wrote that down before realizing what she said. She looked up and started blushing profusely when she realized all eyes were on her. “Oh, I mean, it’s a good theory.” She looked back down, trying not to react especially having seen Klaus smirking at her. “Who would want their child to destroy their own father like that though?”_

 

_Klaus’ smirk fell immediately and he slowly rose from the table. He leaned over and looked at Aria intently. “Can this mysterious X be someone supernatural or even better, can they be dead?”_

 

“ _Apep was known as a god so he’d be able to travel through all worlds. Do you have an idea?”_

 

_Klaus said nothing as he turned and walked out to the nearest balcony. Once he was outside, he was drawing in the cold night air as though he was lacking oxygen. Could it be? Just when his siblings thought they were safe?_

 

_He stood there, grabbing a hold of the metal railing as he stared up at the sky. He didn’t want to believe who was possibly behind it. He could be wrong and by all the gods, he hoped he was wrong. Klaus took one more breath before pushing himself off the railing and headed back to the group huddled around the dining table. He felt their eyes on him as he sat down, not yet facing them._

 

_He slowly looked up and whispered one word, “Mikael.”_

* * *

**Silence**

 

The entire table was stunned after Klaus uttered the name. He looked around in agitation and noticed all eyes were avoiding his. Caroline’s pen had stopped midair and she was staring blankly at her notebook. The former witch looked equally shocked as she sat frozen in front of her laptop. Even his own sister didn’t appear to take the news well as she kept shaking her head and mouthing out the word ‘no.’ The only one in the room that wasn’t as distraught was the young witch and Klaus knew it was because she had only been given very brief information regarding the Mikaelson family history.

 

A minute passed and Klaus’ breathing grew heavy as it felt as though the air thickened and the walls were starting to shrink around him. The idea that he still couldn’t avoid Mikael, after seeing him set aflame after being staked by the white, oak stake was starting to become overwhelming. A low growl began in his chest and his fingers ached to tear into flesh, to destroy _something_.

 

He got up from his chair, his hands braced against the table as he fought to keep the control he was holding onto by a fine thread. Luckily for him, Rebekah recovered from her stupor and noticed his erratic behavior.

 

“Keys are on the mini-bar. Go!” She ordered and he left in a flash, without argument.

 

“What was that?” Bonnie asked as she noticed the Original siblings’ brief interaction. Klaus’ revelation was definitely a shock and she had been mulling over just how plausible it could be. She looked around and noticed Aria looking around in confusion, clearly not knowing the enormity of the news. Caroline was still looking at her notebook with a scowl on her face. Rebekah looked like she was trying to pull herself together so Bonnie just stayed quiet to give the Original vampire a chance to regroup.

 

Caroline didn’t expect that name to come out of Klaus’ mouth when he returned from the balcony. _What could this mean?_ The young vampire thought as she continued staring at her notes. She noticed how agitated Klaus was after he returned and how he just left them. She wasn’t really sure what was going on and worse, she wasn’t sure what to say. It was obvious the siblings were shocked. She knew she would be if her father figure had chased them for ages only to haunt them after his death. It took a few minutes before she was able to look up at the group and waited to see what Rebekah wanted to do tonight. _Should they leave to give her some privacy?_ She was just about to suggest it when Rebekah stood up and addressed the table.

 

“My brother needs some fresh air but we can continue if you’d like,” Rebekah announced and looked over at Aria. “Since you probably need to know the background on our family situation, I can fill you in as we walk to get the tiramisu over at your flat.” While she sounded carefree like before, it wasn’t hard to notice the look of worry in her eyes.

 

Aria nodded and gave the Original vampire a smile of appreciation. “Sure, we can do that. We’ll be back shortly. Rebekah asked me to store some dessert from the restaurant she visited today.”

 

Bonnie nodded and watched as the two left the room. Once they were alone, she moved her chair closer to Caroline’s and patted her friend’s hand. “Hey, are you okay?”

 

“Yeah, I was just trying to imagine what those two were feeling. I mean, talk about a bombshell for them.” She took a deep breath before continuing. “I guess now we need to see if it makes sense that he’s ‘X’, right?”

 

“Yeah, we’ll probably see if there is a plausible theory in each of the scenarios we have come up with.” She got up and walked over the sideboard.

 

Caroline stood up and walked over to the water pitcher to top off her glass before walking over to the main area of the room. She looked at the balcony and motioned for Bonnie to follow her outside.

 

“Nice view,” Bonnie commented as she fastened her jacket to protect her from the cold night air. “Aria has a similar one but several floors up.” She looked over at her friend noting she wasn’t even fazed by the weather. “Are you okay?”

 

Caroline nodded. “I was just thinking how messed up this whole thing is. Remember the story Elena told us about Rebekah and her family? I just couldn’t imagine how I’d feel for either of them. I’d probably include Elijah too, but from what she said, he’s not aware of anything that isn’t about Hayley and the baby right now.” She looked over at her friend and nodded towards the door. “Come on, they’ll probably be here soon and we can see if this theory even makes sense.”

 

“As much as I’m hoping it isn’t true, a part of me has a feeling that won’t be the case. Care, before they come back, can we go over our notes? I want to make sure we’re both on the same page.”

 

**~ A few floors above~**

 

Rebekah had known the witch was troubled after she gave a condensed version of the family dynamics to her on their way to her condo even though Aria remained fairly silent. She remembered the look of horror when she believed Elena Gilbert was a friend and she confided her story, then winced when she remembered how her so-called friend stabbed her in the back, literally. She didn’t believe Aria would deceive her like that but she was going to be careful, nonetheless. With Nik running about to get his aggressions out, she was on her own.

 

“I’ll be right back,” Aria said once she unlocked the door to her family condo. She raced over to the kitchen and grabbed the box of tiramisu from the refrigerator and handed it to Rebekah who was waiting outside. “Let me freshen up before we head back.”

 

The Original vampire nodded as she leaned her back against the wall across from Aria’s door. She wondered if Caroline and Bonnie were going to be there when they returned. It wouldn’t surprise her if they left now that there was the looming possibility Mikael was back. She kept her usual expression of indifference as she waited for the witch to return.

 

As soon as she returned into her condo, Aria headed to the bathroom and splashed water on her face. She couldn’t believe some of the stories Rebekah shared with her on the way up. The stories were during their human lives and she just about heard enough of Mikael’s cruelties to his sons, namely Klaus. She was going to ask why they never sought help before realizing ‘abuse’ was most likely unheard of over a millennia ago. She wiped the cool water from her face and took a deep breath before returning to the front door and leaving, not wanting to appear rude to the Original vampire.

 

“Sorry about that,” Aria whispered as she locked up her condo. “Everything you've told me so far, I couldn’t imagine having to have lived through that.”

 

“We didn’t know any better back then,” Rebekah whispered back to avoid the possibility of anyone overhearing their conversation. “We saw other village children get disciplined but never as much as my brothers. Like I said, Nik bore the brunt of the punishments and it became worse when we became vampires.” Rebekah held open the elevator so Aria could get in.

 

“He said his wolf gene was triggered soon after, right?”

 

Rebekah nodded. “That was how Esther’s indiscretion was discovered. His wolf gene was suppressed until he broke the curse.”

 

“I just don’t understand why _he_ would chase you all for so long. What was the purpose?”

 

“He became a vampire hunter and since we were the first ones, he wanted to eliminate us. Of course Nik was the bane of his existence so it went without saying, killing him would have been his greatest achievement. Because we were with Nik, my brothers and I were probably considered accomplices in Mikael’s eyes.”

 

They entered the lobby of the private residences and Aria waved at one of the guards before they headed back to the hotel section. Once they were in the elevator, Rebekah told Aria how her brother managed to kill Mikael. “I wasn’t there, I had been daggered just hours before the dance and only heard about it after the fact.”

 

Aria shook her head as the Original inserted the keycard to her suite and was pleasantly surprised to see that Bonnie and Caroline were still in the dining area, sitting together and comparing notes. She put on a smile and placed the boxed dessert in the center of the table.

 

 

**~Somewhere outside Buckhead~**

 

_As soon as Klaus left the suite, he headed straight for the elevators. He was thankful nobody else was in the car with him on the way down to the lobby. He paced around the metal enclosure as it descended to the ground floor. Once outside, he walked out of the lobby and into his rental car. It had taken nearly all of his control to remain as human as possible as he left the hotel. While he didn’t really give a damn about the humans, he didn’t want to draw attention upon himself or his sister. If it was indeed Mikael behind this grand scheme, he couldn’t be careless—there was too much as stake. He screamed in outrage at the idea of Mikael finding a way to come after them._

 

_He quickly drove northward, leaving the city, until he found what looked to be open space. He wanted to tear into trees, rip flesh—whether it be human or animal, and just destroy._

 

Klaus killed the headlights as he maneuvered around the twisted, dirt road until he found a clearing and parked. As he walked into the woods, the last memory of Mikael assaulted him.

 

“ _The big bad wolf. You haven’t changed,” Mikael mocked. “Still hiding behind your playthings like a coward.”_ Klaus growled in anger, punching into a tree as he remembered how he bragged about compelling his hybrids as he tried to goad him out of the Lockwood mansion. He remembered how his so-called _father_ tried to use the doppelganger against him as he continued to rile him. Klaus had remained as calm as he could throughout the encounter. It wasn’t until Mikael decided to really twist the proverbial knife in his back that he lost his calm demeanor. _”So you can live forever with no one at your side? Nobody cares about you anymore, boy!”_ It wasn’t until he stabbed Mikael in the heart with the white oak stake that he managed to breathe a sigh of relief—that he, along with his siblings, no longer had to run because of him.

 

“I’ll find a way to destroy you again,” he vowed with a whisper as he made his way into a heavily forested area.

 

Klaus stopped when he heard what sounded like someone struggling. He quietly ran towards the noise and heard several people—men with taunting voices and what sounded like a female. He grinned to himself as he flexed his fingers. There would be blood spilled tonight and the thought of it made him practically salivate.

 

 

**~Meanwhile, back at the Suite~**

 

“All of you believe Nik’s theory that Mikael is behind this scheme is a good one?” Rebekah asked after taking the last bite of her tiramisu. “My mother... Esther also had schemes of destroying the family afterall.”

 

Bonnie nodded. “It’s true but I… I heard things when I was on the Other Side.”

 

The three young women stared at the former witch, silently urging her to continue.

 

Bonnie took the unspoken cue and nodded. “You see, I… there was talk about someone leaving to the After World for good,” she began. “I personally never heard a name but I was told a blonde woman along with two others — a man and a woman.”

 

“But that doesn't explain...” Rebekah interjected.

 

“It would have had to have been someone very powerful during their time here on Earth. Again, I never confirmed and Grams couldn't give me any names. Even after I came back and contacted her the few times, names were never given. It sounds, from what little I know of her, it sounds like something she'd do.”

 

Rebekah thought for a moment, remembering how her mother tried to link all the siblings during the Mikaelson ball. “Finn… he could be the other one along with that woman, Sage.” She thought again about Bonnie’s theory. “It seems to fit and that _was_ her ultimate goal was to find peace.” _Besides, it made sense that Finn would follow his mother and in turn, Sage would follow._

 

“If that’s true, and the Other Side was chaotic at that very moment, it is plausible that an opening was created, allowing someone to pass through to the After World,” Aria added. “We can imagine the Other Side as being Purgatory and then the world after that is one we all seek for peace.”

 

“I think we should see if it fits our theories so far,” Bonnie replied and looked around the room before going back to the original topic. “I think we all understand why Mikael would target you and your brothers, but I guess I’m lost when it comes to the witch angle, unless he just doesn’t want them to ally with you.”

 

“It could be that or it could be the whole idea of the baby,” Aria added. “If witches were in on the scheme, losing their powers could prevent one of them from reversing the spell. By ridding them of their magic, he can probably go undetected.”

 

The blonde Original vampire pondered the theories and nodded to show that she agreed with them. “He might also have a personal vendetta against witches since it was through magic that we became vampires.”

 

“Wouldn’t the werewolves be a part of his revenge too then?” Bonnie asked as she looked over her typed notes. Before Rebekah and Aria returned, she had gone over Caroline’s notes and was relieved to see they were both in the same mindset.

 

“Holy shit, I just thought of something!” Caroline exclaimed. “What if the baby was meant to be looked at as family but in the end, it ends up killing you? Do you think that baby will become the reincarnation of Mikael?” Caroline shook her head. “It’s crazy. Never–”

 

“Do you think that’s possible?” Rebekah interrupted the younger vampire’s thought and asked outloud.

 

“Right now, we don’t know for sure,” Aria replied. “I think given what Rebekah told me about Mikael, it makes the best sense that he’s somehow behind this. That somewhere along the way, he struck a deal with Apep to wreak havoc and ultimately destroy the Mikaelson family,” the witch explained. “I can’t say for certain, whether or not this child will be the reincarnation of Mikael but I think we should accept it is _very_ probable and therefore Caroline’s theory, as wild as it might sound, shouldn’t be overlooked. What I need to do is make a trip to New Orleans. I need to see if we can find this Davina girl and get a sense of the witches there. Like I said earlier, maman can examine Hayley to see if she is really pregnant or if it is some sort of dark magic.”

 

“When are you going out there because I want to be there too,” Bonnie replied. “You might need my help.”

 

“I’m going too,” Caroline blurted and looked directly at Rebekah. She had hoped Klaus would be here when she announced her plans to visit but she knew his sister would end up relaying the news regardless. “I want to help.”

 

“Spring Break’s coming, it could be a good excuse to be there. Do you two have any plans?” Aria asked. Both Bonnie and Caroline shook their heads. “Let’s plan to be there then. It’s two or three weeks from now, right?”

 

“Mid March, so roughly three weeks,” Caroline replied.

 

“Okay,” the Original vampire nodded. “In three weeks. I’m sure Nik will agree that you should stay together if at all possible. I can help find a place for you.” Rebekah was certain her brother wouldn’t mind and besides, he wasn’t here at the moment. It was her chance to prove to her brother she could negotiate and strategize as well as they could, so she took the initiative. She was certain that he wouldn’t object since she wasn’t scheming against either of them and time was of the essence, or so it seemed.

 

“Put it in my name, we can coordinate the details later,” Aria suggested and looked at Caroline before looking over at Rebekah. “I’ll make sure you’re invited in. I want to limit who is allowed though—maybe you and your brother. I don’t know Elijah so—”

 

Rebekah waved her hand dismissively. “Don’t worry about Elijah. He’s not in the best frame of mind right now. I think you need to be close by so we could protect you but at the same time, give you the freedom so you could observe without anybody realizing what you’re really doing.”

 

“That’s a good idea, right now our theories are just that. Until I can actually go into the French Quarter and assess things, we won’t be able to come up with a good plan.”

 

“Why can’t we destroy this... this _child_?” the Original vampire asked. _I’ll do it if it saves my family. It’s not like I’m not damned already,_ she added silently.

 

“The thing with spells, and this will most likely pertain to Apep’s scheme as well, is there are failsafes built in. Which means if we make a wrong decision, it could spell disaster for us all. We must assume that going after the baby at this time will trigger something. It would be too simple of a plan for Apep not to have.”

 

“Kind of like a chess game?” Caroline asked and the witch nodded.

 

“That’s a good analogy, Caroline. We need to gather some intel before we formulate a plan. Rebekah, can you provide us with pictures of the Marcel vampire and maybe some other folks that you and your brother interact with?”

 

Rebekah nodded and began to put some ideas on compelling some tourists into taking pictures for her. “So should we adjourn until we are in New Orleans?”

 

“I think we can hold off planning the next phase or phases until we meet again. In the meantime, we can continue to refine our current theories and make sure we share them with each other.” Bonnie looked over at Caroline. “Do you want to head back in the morning? I have some older grimoires still at Grams’ house that might be useful. They’re old so I never brought them to the dorm.”

 

“We could do that and if we get back early enough, your car should be ready,” the young vampire replied. “Are you sure you don’t mind if we left early?”

 

Aria shook her head and proceeded to pack her scrolls away.

 

“There’s a copy center a few floors down, I need to copy your notes,” Rebekah announced.

 

Caroline looked over at the Original and wondered if she was trying to lure her away from her friends before deciding she was being paranoid. If she really wanted to, Rebekah had plenty of opportunities to put her in harm’s way She grabbed her notebook and followed Rebekah towards the entrance. “I’ll be back in a few, Bonnie.”

 

The elevator ride was quiet, mostly because there was, what appeared to be, an amorous couple who were completely oblivious to the women sharing their space. The two practically ran out once the elevator stopped and the doors opened. When the couple disappeared, Caroline couldn’t help but laugh over what she just saw.

 

“Oh my god, if your suite was any higher up in the building, they might have started getting naked!” Caroline exclaimed as she followed Rebekah to the business center.

 

“I honestly don’t think they would have cared one way or another. I think they might have liked having an audience,” the Original quipped as they entered the office area and headed to the copy machines.

 

They were the only ones in there and Caroline gave her the notebook and hopped onto the counter next to it.

 

Rebekah remained quiet as she photocopied the first three pages. When she got the next page aligned, she looked over to the younger vampire. “He’s probably going to kill tonight,” she blurted out but not loud enough for passersby to overhear. “Nik, he had that look about him when he left so suddenly.”

 

Caroline _had_ wondered where Klaus had gone running off to and now his sister basically confirmed it. “Isn’t that, like a normal thing for him?” she scoffed and looked away, hoping she provided just _enough_ hostility in her voice to deter the blonde from interrogating her about her feelings. She wasn’t ready to talk to her about it since she just came to the realization not that long ago.

 

“Actually, no,” Rebekah replied as she continued to copy the notebook. “He still feeds off humans, that’s a given but actually kill or the sake of killing? He hadn’t done that in at least a month or so.” She wasn’t trying to be cruel or accuse the younger vampire of wrongdoing. She wanted to gauge her reaction since this was the vampire that her brother fancied and had somewhat of a reputation of great self-control. If she had the intention of changing her brother—to make him timid or meek, Caroline had to know there would be none of that.

 

Rebekah’s revelation surprised Caroline. She knew Klaus had little regard to human life—they were nothing more than a means of sustenance. _What was the Original vampire’s angle?_ she wondered. As she tried to look bored and impassive, she wondered if this was a way to scare her off or lose interest in Klaus. She thought back at their conversation when he explained how he _wanted_ to be good because of her. _Was this his way of showing it—to not kill as often as she knew he was used to?_ She knew that if she was going to even entertain the idea of being with him, she had to accept him for who he was.

 

“Will he be okay?” she finally asked. “You know, knowing it could be Mikael behind it all? Are you okay?”

 

Rebekah shrugged and pressed the copy button. “I suppose after running from him for so long, one gets used to it, but it’s the idea that there is something greater behind it that is unnerving,” she admitted before adding. “Thank you for everything.” She handed her the notebook and grabbed the loose papers off the copier. “Nik will want to know everything we talked about after he ran off. He’ll be fine.” Her last words sounded hollow but she said nothing else as the blonde followed her back to the suite. She wasn’t sure if any of them would be fine, especially having to defeat Mikael once and for all.

 

Once they were in the suite, Caroline proceeded to pack her things back in her shopping bag as Bonnie exchanged everybody’s numbers and emails.

 

“We’ll see you in a few weeks,” Bonnie said as she gave Aria a small hug before giving Rebekah a nod. She hadn’t completely warmed up to Rebekah yet to give her a hug but wanted to give a friendly gesture nonetheless.

 

Caroline shook Aria’s hand and smiled at Rebekah before heading out the door.

 

“You ready to actually sleep in our room?” Bonnie teased as they made their way back to the lobby.

 

“Yeah, I could probably snooze for a few hours before we head back out. You’re not upset we’re leaving earlier than planned, are you?”

 

“Nah, we got stuff done and had some fun as well. Besides, we’re going to be in New Orleans in a few weeks. We’ll stay for a week and I promise we’ll have fun there. Look on the plus side, getting back early gives us a free day to ourselves before we go back to class on Monday.”

 

 

**~Back in the Woods~**

 

Klaus’ first intent was to rush into the woods and begin tearing the humans apart. When he was about half way there, he slowed down and decided savor each kill. His footfalls were more quiet as he approached the group. The stench of alcohol and unwashed bodies greeted him before he even saw the drunken men—all six of them in different stages of inebriation.

 

There were cans of beer strewn all over the forest floor and what looked like the remnants of a bonfire. There was a mass beside the dying fire and at first Klaus thought it was a body but then heard a faint heartbeat and shallow breaths coming from the body.

 

The men, not knowing he was witnessing their antics were staring and pointing to the unconscious figure as they joked about how they were going to “take care of him”. Klaus realized immediately the high voice he heard earlier wasn’t a woman’s, but a young boy.

 

He had seen that look before on each of the mens’ faces. It reminded him of the many times Mikael had beaten him and his siblings. Their menacing voices and threats to kick the boy caused something within Klaus to snap and he quickly flashed to the nearest human; reaching into his back and grabbing his heart out of it’s body and letting it drop as he ran off and hid. The thud of the fallen man caught the attention of the rest of his comrades and they laughed when he fell face down onto the ground. They hadn’t realized their friend was dead, his heart having just beat for the last time in Klaus’ hand.

 

The Original Hybrid decided to have some fun and tossed the bloody heart close to the group causing the five of them to turn their attention to the noise.

 

“Shit, that’s a… is that a heart?!” one of the men slurred out as a couple others peered out into the woods, near Klaus’ direction.

 

_This is too easy,_ he mused as he used his supernatural speed to get behind one of the other men and tore his throat out—taking several messy gulps of warm blood.

 

The man tried to warn the others but with his larynx violently removed and blood flowing out of his body, he was soon dead—his face frozen in a silent scream.

 

“What the fuck?” Another man turned around and spotted Klaus’ latest victim. “Guys, Bobby’s bloody and… and he looks dead!”

 

He could smell the fear coming from the rest of the men as they staggered closer together. One of them had already soiled his clothes. The appointed leader pointed towards a clearing and tried, unsuccessfully to walk quietly towards it. Klaus snuck up to two of the slower men and plunged his hands into their chest cavities pulling their hearts and throwing it at the leader.

 

The dark haired, brawny, bearded man, having felt something warm and wet on his neck, reached up and felt the blood but didn’t realize what it was until he brought it up to his face and sniffed. He froze causing his last, living companion to nearly crash into him.

 

The two were panicking now and having a hard time breathing. Klaus could hear their hearts beating faster and faster. He took a moment to enjoy the sounds of their impending death before he grabbed the smaller of the two’s arm and pulled, immediately dislocating his shoulder. The red-headed man screamed out and fell to his knees as he tried to cradle his arm. He began to whimper as his friend tried to get him to stand up.

 

“Get up, asshole!” the bearded man screamed and reached over to pull the smaller man up by the shoulders, not realizing he had an injury. The redhead, in his drunken and pain-filled stupor, tried to retaliate by swinging his fist towards the bearded man.

 

Klaus stood there and watched as the two men were distracted from their fear. They shouted at each other and took aimless punches. He let them continue for another moment since his attention was now on the young boy who had been passed out before. He was slowly coming back to consciousness and since he was now closer, Klaus could see bruises on the boy’s skin. He knew those weren’t marks that came from being careless. He himself had been on the receiving end of a fist when he was about the lad’s age.

 

The Original’s eyes flashed gold as his anger rose once more. He had originally intended to leave nothing but corpses around, even the young boy wasn’t going to be immune but he couldn’t—not when it hit so close to him and he could, in theory, make a difference. He rolled his eyes as he realized what he was about to do and before he could overanalyze his impending action, he moved swiftly to the men and tore them apart.

 

Blood splattered everywhere as pieces of two bodies flew around their campsite. He even dismembered the rest of the corpses so they all resembled victims of a vicious and rabid animal attack. When he was done, the bodies were pretty much unidentifiable without a highly skilled forensics team. He grabbed a nearby tarp and the boy and ran out towards a suburban area he had seen before he parked his car.

 

They were still in the forested area and a police substation was about a hundred yards away. The young boy was starting to toss and turn, realizing he was not on the ground but in someone’s arms. He started to struggle, kicking his legs and opening his mouth to try and scream.

 

“You will only talk when I ask you questions,” Klaus whispered as he compelled the boy. He set the boy down, tearing the tarp in half and wrapped it around his body like a makeshift blanket. “What is your name and how did you get here?”

 

“I’m Josh and I’m ten. Are we in Tampa?”

 

“No, Josh, I’m afraid we’re not in Tampa right now. Do you remember how you got here?”

 

The young boy nodded his head vigorously. “I was in bed and someone climbed in and tooked me. It was mama’s boyfriend, Bobby and his friends. They were bad and smelly.”

 

_Ah yes, one of his first victims._ The hybrid nodded and stared into Josh’s eyes. “Josh, I want you to forget meeting and talking to me. The only thing you remembered was being in the woods and you ran when you heard animals. — scary animals” He pointed over to the police station. “Now, go straight there and tell them who you are. They’ll help you find your mother.”

 

Josh repeated, in a robotic manner, everything Klaus said and then wrapped the tarp around him tighter as he walked towards the lit building. Klaus stayed hidden in the trees and watched as a police officer noticed the young boy and picked him up, yelling for help.

 

Realizing the boy was safe, he went back to the rental car and lined the seat with what was left of the blue tarp. As he started the engine, he looked down at his blood drenched clothes and realized he couldn’t just walk into the hotel unnoticed. He decided to stop by the Factory House and clean up, knowing his clothes from the night before as well as his painting supplies were still there.

 

He decided he’d also text Rebekah from there, once he decompressed. He wasn’t quite in the mood to interact with anybody at the moment and relished the idea of having some peace and quiet to himself.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed that. Again, I apologize for having taken forever. One of the things I didn’t want to do was post all the prewritten chapters and then feel as though I wrote myself into a hole. I can do some minor tweaking to the story when it comes back to me and it shouldn’t (knock on wood) ruin it.
> 
> The flashback scene with Mikael taunting Klaus came from TVD. As always, I don't own the show or characters. 
> 
> For those who are still reading and following along. Thank you!
> 
> XO ~sushi

**Author's Note:**

> Well? Did you like it? What do y’all think? I’ll also have this up on AO3 as well as a backup. Here is the link to Caroline's pendant - http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b135/hockeybrat29/Fan%20Fic/CarolineAmulet_zps79ee6add.jpg
> 
> Since I’m new to the TVD world, I will need some cover art/banner - PM me if you have any ideas or recommendations. :)
> 
> You can also find me on Tumblr as atxsushi. My icon is one of my kitty cats - Puck. :) 
> 
> Thank you again! XO ~ sushi


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